Books like Así empieza lo malo by Javier Marías
In Madrid, 1980, Juan de Vere, a recent university graduate, takes a position as personal assistant to Eduardo Muriel, a once‑successful and eccentric film director admired for his urbane demeanor. Muriel’s wife, Beatriz, occupies their household like an unseen presence, while Dr. Jorge Van Vechten, a family friend, is shrouded in scandal. Entrusted by Muriel to investigate Van Vechten, Juan gradually uncovers a maze of questions: the director’s antagonism toward his wife, the nature of Beatriz’s relationship with Van Vechten, and events from the war years. Marías navigates the entwined lives of these characters, probing themes of rancor, suspicion, loyalty, trust, and the porous boundaries between the deceits others impose upon us and the self‑deceptions we accept.
First publish date: 2014
Genre: Literary Fiction/Contemporary Literary Fiction
Authors: Javier Marías
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