tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post3855160718874112966..comments2024-01-02T15:37:04.858-05:00Comments on Caravana de recuerdos: Tu rostro mañana. 3 Veneno y sombra y adiósRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-56354275738036886562011-09-15T10:08:36.849-04:002011-09-15T10:08:36.849-04:00I've purposely kept myself away from your post...I've purposely kept myself away from your post until finishing at least one of my own, which I'm both proud and ashamed to say is <a href="http://www.bibliographing.com/2011/09/15/your-face-tomorrow-poison-shadow-and-farewell-by-javier-marias/" rel="nofollow">finally up</a>. There is <em>lots more</em> to come--this one gets at least a five- or six-post series by the end. I mean...WHEW. Huge. All-encompassing. Also just awesome. And yes, while I may have struggled to finish on time, I could do with another volume or five. Guess I'll just have to settle for all of Marías's other work.<br /><br />Thanks again for hosting this and getting me to read the trilogy. One of those things where you know you should, you know it will be good, but <em>damn</em>. Haha it's been days and I'm still barely articulate!nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17532641082944082516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-82087558184848290922011-09-05T13:00:49.519-04:002011-09-05T13:00:49.519-04:00Thanks for the recommendation, Richard! I will add...Thanks for the recommendation, Richard! I will add that to my list.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-43878812917563787972011-09-05T12:10:12.949-04:002011-09-05T12:10:12.949-04:00*Amanda: The novel would qualify as a lengthy rea...*Amanda: The novel would qualify as a lengthy read in any language, but it never felt that way to me--entertaining, intelligent and thought-provoking throughout. Glad to hear your Spanish language practice is paying off--maybe a shorter Marías like <em>Todas las almas</em> would be just the thing to spur you on to even greater heights!<br /><br />*Fangirl: I like how you think! And I totally know what you mean about that narrative voice feeling like coming home--have felt that more and more throughout both this novel and the last Marías before that that I read. Anyway, hope the end of Vol. 3 stays rewarding for you all the way up to the very end.<br /><br />*Amateur Reader: Just when I think <em>Dark Back of Time</em> couldn't possibly sound any more interesting, you have to throw in that tidbit about don Francisco Rico! Ok, so maybe I need to scrap all other plans and concentrate on an all-Marías month for October. Either that or maybe swap out <em>Los enamoramientos</em> for the "false novel" at least. Thanks for the juicy tidbit, though.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-71727531181234767022011-09-04T22:12:05.593-04:002011-09-04T22:12:05.593-04:00So we need to read whichever other JM novel featur...So we need to read whichever other JM novel features Custardoy, obviously, but I have to tell you that <i>Dark Back of Time</i> not only explains why Prof. Rico is in <i>YFT</i>, but why he has to suffer the indignity of de la Garza's rhymes (not that specifically, but <i>some</i> kind of indignity).Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-90267776144644747592011-09-04T17:49:27.453-04:002011-09-04T17:49:27.453-04:00You know that I am fangirl to your fanboy here. Ju...You know that I am fangirl to your fanboy here. Just started volume three and it feels like going home. Something here inexplicable to me - the ease with which I sink in to that narrative voice. My thoughts soon..Franceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12597485569740436880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-83215858056106601512011-09-04T17:08:41.175-04:002011-09-04T17:08:41.175-04:00Your series of posts on this trilogy is really tem...Your series of posts on this trilogy is really tempting me to reading these someday! I don't know if I'll be brave enough to attempt such a lengthy read in Spanish, but I have noticed that my recent Spanish reading ventures, even as limited as they've been, have really started to bring the Spanish back.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-61335336254326456292011-09-04T16:40:30.080-04:002011-09-04T16:40:30.080-04:00*Scott: Glad I wasn't alone in feeling bereft ...*Scott: Glad I wasn't alone in feeling bereft like that! Pérez-Nuix on Berlusconi is a complete hoot, so hopefully the three reports turn up for you somehow sometime soon. I don't know that I've seen any of those Chatto & Windus covers unless they include the one Rise took a picture with for Vol. 3, but if you like them LESS than the New Directions ones, I'm prob. not missing out too much, I guess (my library seems to carry a lot of the C&W books in hardcover but with the cover sleeves discarded--maybe there's a message there, ha!).<br /><br />*Rise: The Professor Rico thing was a particular crack-up to me because I've read a handful of journal articles on Spanish medieval and Golden Age literature by him over the years without ever imagining that I'd run into him as a character in a novel (shades of <em>Don Quixote</em>)--while being subjected to De la Garza no less! Other than that, I feel bad that English readers have to miss out on the bonus material for some reason--it doesn't make or break the novel by any stretch of the imagination, but it's stuff that fans of the novel would def. enjoy. Anyway, thanks so much for joining us for this one--I'll have to ask you sometime what led you to "linger and delay" a la Deza from finishing part two to starting part three, but I'm so glad you did since you got to read along with us for the grand, soulful finale! :DRichardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-50745635799290338872011-09-03T12:19:41.908-04:002011-09-03T12:19:41.908-04:00'Soulful' -- I couldn't think of a bet...'Soulful' -- I couldn't think of a better word to sing the soul of this book. And I never knew Prof. Francisco Rico is flesh and blood! A great play on real life once again, especially with such colorful character the professor inhabited in the book. A perfect antithesis to De la Garza.<br /><br />On the censored epilogue: the publisher or translator should have explained the reason for this. I felt almost betrayed, to exaggerate, especially since, based on your description of its contents, it's the kind of writing to relish. But I couldn't help but also think that Marías gave his consent for withholding these pages. For what reason, it's hard to guess. In any case, the epilogue's title is a good riff on his delightful nonfiction, "Vidas escritas" ("Written Lives"). I do hope future editions will carry these pages. Made me think of "Epilogue for Monsters" in Nazi Literature.<br /><br />Thanks again for this readalong, Richard. Another one for the books.Risehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17446964640160585194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-19311292382956085072011-09-03T12:11:23.535-04:002011-09-03T12:11:23.535-04:00Oops - that should be: I FELT similarly bereft...Oops - that should be: I FELT similarly bereft...seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-45294167312874314502011-09-03T12:09:52.375-04:002011-09-03T12:09:52.375-04:00I couldn't agree more, Richard - I similarly b...I couldn't agree more, Richard - I similarly bereft at "Your Face Tomorrow" finally coming to an end and could have stayed in its world for far longer. But wait! An epilogue? Is it available anywhere in English? The hilarity of the very idea of Perez-Nuix reporting on Berlusconi means I have to track this down...<br /><br />(And for what it's worth, I've actually come to like the New Directions covers, at least compared to the boring Chatto & Windus images on the British edition I read).seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-60432264813354615252011-09-03T00:12:40.099-04:002011-09-03T00:12:40.099-04:00*Jill: "Even all the psychiatrists who would ...*Jill: "Even all the psychiatrists who would love to get their hands on you." Yes, I'd be quite the catch for science, wouldn't I? Always hiding out in my "niche of despair" lair out in the bookish wilds and all. Thanks, I think--it's nice to know I can always count on you for a heady mixture of flattery and venom, my friend!<br /><br />*Emily: Thanks, I look forward to seeing your review of this some day--pretty certain that it will provide plenty for you sink your teeth into although I'm also aware that my increasing fanboy tendencies re: Marías may make me mildly untrustworthy in that regard. Rise's post, which has wowed everybody who's read it by all appearances, is for sure one of the unexpected side benefits of reading great books in such fine company.<br /><br />*Amateur Reader: I don't know the story behind the "edit," but I can't see how New Directions could have any excuses in this matter either. Plus, their covers continue to be an eyesore to anyone over the age of 12. (Bunga Bunga comes in a two-way tie for last, by the way!) As for where I'd recommend somebody start with Marías, I think <em>All Souls</em> and <em>Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me</em> are great points of departure for different reasons. I haven't read <em>A Heart So White Yet</em>, but Rise has vouched for that as has almost everybody else that I know of so that has to receive some consideration also. I think a certain type of reader will want to start with <em>Your Face Tomorrow</em>, though, and I wouldn't consider that a mistake either since I think somebody new to Melville, for example, should go straight for <em>Moby-Dick</em> rather than pussyfooting around with his shorter works (and no knock on those intended). Not sure it will prove to be my favorite or Marías' best among his catalog, but I wouldn't discourage anyone from tackling this big beast either. A tricky question: where would you start somebody out with him?Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-41755607602814917892011-09-02T21:47:33.696-04:002011-09-02T21:47:33.696-04:00Now I'm steamed, steamed I tell you. England ...Now I'm steamed, steamed I tell you. England has nonsensical libel laws, which I presume are the cause of the suppression of those "reports," but what excuse does New Directions have?<br /><br />The best joke would be if the Bunga Bunga, I mean Berlusconi profile were the most flattering.<br /><br />I agree that the comic bits were ace. <i>Dark Back of Time</i> is proportionally funnier - more funny parts were page, so to speak. Agree, too about the interest of the tribute to the author's real-life father and mentor.<br /><br />Richard, would you recommend that a reader new to Marías start further back? With <i>All Souls</i> or something?Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-69514385958749126902011-09-02T19:18:11.085-04:002011-09-02T19:18:11.085-04:00You keep ratcheting this up my TBR, Richard. Well...You keep ratcheting this up my TBR, Richard. Well you and Rise! What a crazy post he wrote! (High flattery coming from me.)<br /><br />Anyway, so glad this lived up to your expectations, and what you say about the humor and soulfulness in it have me eager for the day when my Spanish is sufficiently rehabilitated to try some Marías in the original.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-46720089517345292972011-09-02T19:04:46.946-04:002011-09-02T19:04:46.946-04:00Just when I think you couldn't possibly come u...Just when I think you couldn't possibly come up with better sentence length equivalents of bon mots, you come up with new ones! viz: "The casual reader might well wonder: did Javier Marías really need 1,332 pages to tell Your Face Tomorrow? To which I might casually reply: I agree, couldn't he have given us just a couple of hundred pages more?" I don't care what anyone says, even all the psychiatrists who would love to get their hands on you: you are the best blog writer ever!rhapsodyinbookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07041412748239010264noreply@blogger.com