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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
This was my first taste of the world of Javier Marias and I was greatly impressed.
Your Face Tomorrow is the first part of a trilogy chronicling the exploits of Jacques Deza. As Deza relocates himself to England, due to a messy divorce he discovers that his powers of perception are better than the average person. This catches the attention of his former lecturer Peter Wheeler, who introduces Deza to Bertram Tupra, the head of an espionage unit. After cajoling both Tupra and Wheeler persuade Deza to joint this unit so that they can get information on government traitors. During this process Deza begins to learn that things are not exactly as they seem and makes some surprising discoveries about his new colleagues.
You could say this Fever and Spear is merely an introduction. Throughout the novel we learn about characters and, of course Deza’s (and his father’s) life before his move to London. Already we are sucked into a very complex situation, filled with twists and turns where nothing is as it seems. Part spy thriller, part biography Fever and Spear could have stood alone as a single novel, if not Marias inserted a cliffhanger which leads to Deza’s first case.
Marias is a very delicate writer and although one gets the impression that he meanders too much, there is a reason why he does for he ties everything up. Marias is not interested in chronological order and any biographical information is scattered within the book. The language (or translation) is a bit too flowery at times but don’t let it put you off the book itself. All I can say now is that the second part, Dance and Dream should prove to be very interesting.
Your Face Tomorrow is the first part of a trilogy chronicling the exploits of Jacques Deza. As Deza relocates himself to England, due to a messy divorce he discovers that his powers of perception are better than the average person. This catches the attention of his former lecturer Peter Wheeler, who introduces Deza to Bertram Tupra, the head of an espionage unit. After cajoling both Tupra and Wheeler persuade Deza to joint this unit so that they can get information on government traitors. During this process Deza begins to learn that things are not exactly as they seem and makes some surprising discoveries about his new colleagues.
You could say this Fever and Spear is merely an introduction. Throughout the novel we learn about characters and, of course Deza’s (and his father’s) life before his move to London. Already we are sucked into a very complex situation, filled with twists and turns where nothing is as it seems. Part spy thriller, part biography Fever and Spear could have stood alone as a single novel, if not Marias inserted a cliffhanger which leads to Deza’s first case.
Marias is a very delicate writer and although one gets the impression that he meanders too much, there is a reason why he does for he ties everything up. Marias is not interested in chronological order and any biographical information is scattered within the book. The language (or translation) is a bit too flowery at times but don’t let it put you off the book itself. All I can say now is that the second part, Dance and Dream should prove to be very interesting.
Not so good as expected, on the contrary.
4* Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me
3* The Infatuations
4* Berta Isla
2* Fever and Spear (Your Face Tomorrow, #1)
TR Thus Bad Begins
TR A Heart so White
TR All Souls
4* Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me
3* The Infatuations
4* Berta Isla
2* Fever and Spear (Your Face Tomorrow, #1)
TR Thus Bad Begins
TR A Heart so White
TR All Souls
There is something almost genre bending about Javier Marías’ Fever and Spear. To call it a spy novel would do it a huge disservice. The best way I could describe this novel is to call it a character study. Our narrator, Jacques Deza has recently separated with his wife and, to put some distance between the two, has moved from Madrid to London where he meets an old friend, Sir Peter Wheeler. Deza is recruited into Her Majesty’s secret service where he starts investigating the shady underbelly of international business.
“How can I not know today your face tomorrow, the face that is there already or is being forged beneath the face you show me or beneath the mask you are wearing, and which you will only show me when I am least expecting it?”
Look, the plot to this is not really important, and this makes it rather difficult to write about this novel. Fever and Spear is the first book in the Your Face Tomorrow trilogy, and it appears to be some kind of metaphysical thriller, meaning it explores the philosophical notions of metaphysics in the form of a thriller. I talked about literary thrillers in my review of Purge and how difficult it is to find good examples of the genre. I mentioned The 7th Function of Language and In the First Circle as great examples and I seem to have stumbled across another one with Fever and Spear.
“One should never tell anyone anything or give information or pass on stories or make people remember beings who have never existed or trodden the earth or traversed the world or who, having done so, are now almost safe in uncertain, one-eyed oblivion. Telling is almost always done as a gift, even when the story contains and injects some poison, it is also a bond, a granting of trust, and rare is the trust or confidence that is not sooner or later betrayed, rare is the close bond that does not grow twisted or knotted and, in the end become so tangled that a razor or knife is needed to cut it.”
I struggle to find the words to describe how much I enjoyed this novel. There is something about the way Javier Marías explored the past, present and the future that makes it difficult to write about. I had such an amazing experience here and I want to tout this book out but I lack the words. Needless to say, I would have picked up Dance and Dream (book two) right away if I had access to it, and I did not have a huge reading pile.
I might attempt to review Fever and Spear again in the future, I know I will reread it many times. I need to read the entire trilogy to see if I can get my thoughts straight. I know this is no way to review something you connected with, but my thoughts about this novel do not seem to fall into place. I write this mainly to try and make sense of my opinion. I do not think it helped. I hope I have said enough to at least convince someone to give Javier Marías a go, if not Fever and Spear.
This review originally appeared on my blog: http://www.knowledgelost.org/book-reviews/genre/literary-fiction/your-face-tomorrow-1-fever-and-spear-by-javier-marias/
“How can I not know today your face tomorrow, the face that is there already or is being forged beneath the face you show me or beneath the mask you are wearing, and which you will only show me when I am least expecting it?”
Look, the plot to this is not really important, and this makes it rather difficult to write about this novel. Fever and Spear is the first book in the Your Face Tomorrow trilogy, and it appears to be some kind of metaphysical thriller, meaning it explores the philosophical notions of metaphysics in the form of a thriller. I talked about literary thrillers in my review of Purge and how difficult it is to find good examples of the genre. I mentioned The 7th Function of Language and In the First Circle as great examples and I seem to have stumbled across another one with Fever and Spear.
“One should never tell anyone anything or give information or pass on stories or make people remember beings who have never existed or trodden the earth or traversed the world or who, having done so, are now almost safe in uncertain, one-eyed oblivion. Telling is almost always done as a gift, even when the story contains and injects some poison, it is also a bond, a granting of trust, and rare is the trust or confidence that is not sooner or later betrayed, rare is the close bond that does not grow twisted or knotted and, in the end become so tangled that a razor or knife is needed to cut it.”
I struggle to find the words to describe how much I enjoyed this novel. There is something about the way Javier Marías explored the past, present and the future that makes it difficult to write about. I had such an amazing experience here and I want to tout this book out but I lack the words. Needless to say, I would have picked up Dance and Dream (book two) right away if I had access to it, and I did not have a huge reading pile.
I might attempt to review Fever and Spear again in the future, I know I will reread it many times. I need to read the entire trilogy to see if I can get my thoughts straight. I know this is no way to review something you connected with, but my thoughts about this novel do not seem to fall into place. I write this mainly to try and make sense of my opinion. I do not think it helped. I hope I have said enough to at least convince someone to give Javier Marías a go, if not Fever and Spear.
This review originally appeared on my blog: http://www.knowledgelost.org/book-reviews/genre/literary-fiction/your-face-tomorrow-1-fever-and-spear-by-javier-marias/
A spy novel without much spying. A thoughtful look at propaganda, informants, "loose lips" campaigns, and other effects of war on people not fighting, through the lens of the Spanish Civil War and WWII, but aware of and in response to 9/11 and the early Afghanistan war. It'd be four stars if I didn't know that there's at least two more books to go - have I started another unfinished saga, but one where only one thing happens per book?