Charming reading for a short train trip, or outrageous gimmick designed to trick innocent lovers of Marias (can there be such a thing?) into parting with ten bucks for 15 sheets of toilet paper folded in half and stuck between two unrolled toilet paper cardboard tubes with very cheap glue? Yes.

Production values aside, this is a story I will value mainly because I can give it to my wife to read in an hour (she reads quickly) and hopefully get her excited about reading other Marias. Esther Allen either translates 'easier' Marias books, or translates them into easier-reading, though less gripping, English (this, Dark Back of Time).

It's a fine tale, but it's also a short story from an author who works best over long stretches. Most of his other novels are tied to Shakespeare plays; this one is tied to a bad Elvis movie (I assume it's bad, although I haven't seen it, because the narrator here tells me just how bad it is). There's none of the tension Marias characteristically sets up between two or three events. And the quasi-phenomenological essays are limited to a couple of pages at the start.

On the other hand, it's pretty funny; Marias can be very funny but sometimes seems to bury that amid his cleverness and style. So all in all, a nice afternoon for Marias readers, and an extremely easy, possibly misleading entry point for those who are not yet innocent lovers of the author. ( )

Mixed reviews abide here, and for good reason. Only the most rabid fan of Javier Marías could love this "little gem". Not really a novel or even a novella by my lights, but simply a long short story that didn't have to be written. I like Javier Marías. I am grateful I had a proper introduction to him with [b:Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me|60030|Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me|Javier Marías|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348254165s/60030.jpg|1281855]. Had I not read that book first I would have given up on this one after the opening monologue which I found to be the most pleasing aspect of the book. Other negative reviews pointed out their dislike of same. But I love it when Javier Marías goes off on me. And now that I own at least another four or five of his books I am going to pick the one that he most went off in to read next. I almost wish I hadn't read this little Bobbie Ann Mason snivel but I am going to forgive and forget if Javier Marías finds a way to kick my ass again. And I am sure he will. Apologies to all the lovers of this book. Especially you! (You know who you are too.) Just not my cup of tea. You can now, because of me, get a very inexpensive first printing for yourself on amazon.com, that is, if you hurry. ( )

Another novella -- I read lots of blogs recommending novellas in December, and the Amazon secondhand orders are now coming in after the snow. I like Marías from the few short things of his which I've read, but I've not yet plucked up the courage to read his novels. I was recommended them some time ago so they've been on my wishlist for ages. This one involves a trip to Mexico with Elvis Presley, which gets complicated when the protagonist has to translate insults in a rough bar. ( )