Prince of Shadows

by Antonio Muñoz Molina

253 Members 4 Reviews ½ (3.71)

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La ambigüedad de la traición es el motor de una intriga policíaca que constituye el tema aparente de Beltenebros. Sin embargo, lo que en realidad encubre es el desorientado transitar de los personajes por una fascinante galería de espejos en la que se reflejan el amor y el odio, el pasado y el presente, la realidad y la ficción, en un trepidante claroscuro de corte premeditadamente cinematográfico que mantiene al lector bajo su hipnosis hasta el último renglón del libro. Convocado show more por una organización comunista subversiva, Darman, antiguo capitán del ejército republicano exiliado en Inglaterra, regresa a Madrid para ejecutar a un supuesto traidor a quien no ha visto nunca. En los lóbregos escenarios de la clandestinidad, emprende con desgana un periplo trepidante en pos de su víctima del que una misericordiosa cabaretera, viva imagen de una mujer a la que amó, tratará de desviarlo. En Beltenebros, el arte de narrador de Muñoz Molina, su vigorosa maestría técnica y su estilo preciso y envolvente alcanzan un grado extremo de plenitud y de tensión expresiva cuyo logro admite escasos parangones en la narrativa española contemporánea. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION The ambiguity of betrayal serves as the driving force behind a detective intrigue that forms the apparent theme of Beltenebros. However, what it truly conceals is the disoriented journey of the characters through a fascinating hall of mirrors, reflecting love and hatred, past and present, reality and fiction, in a deliberately cinematic chiaroscuro that keeps the reader entranced until the final line of the book. Summoned by a subversive communist organization, Darman, a former captain of the Republican army exiled in England, returns to Madrid to execute a supposed traitor he has never met. In the shadowy settings of the underground, he reluctantly embarks on a gripping journey in pursuit of his target, from which a compassionate cabaret singer--a living image of a woman he once loved--will attempt to steer him away. In Beltenebros, Muñoz Molina's narrative craft, his vigorous technical mastery, and his precise and immersive style reach an exceptional level of completeness and expressive tension, a feat that finds few equals in contemporary Spanish literature. show less

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Author Information

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Antonio Muñoz Molina
63+ Works 5,130 Members
Antonio Munoz Molina was director of the Cervantes Institute from 2004 to 2006.

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Common Knowledge

Canonical title
Prince of Shadows
Original title
Beltenebros
Original publication date
1989
Important places
Madrid, Spain

Classifications

Genres
Fiction and Literature, General Fiction
DDC/MDS
863.64 — Literature & rhetoric Spanish Literature Spanish fiction 20th Century 1945-2000
LCC
PQ6663 .U4795 .B4 — Language and Literature French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese literatures Spanish literature Individual authors, 1961-2000
BISAC
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Statistics

Members
253
Popularity
127,660
Reviews
4
Rating
½ (3.71)
Languages
9 — Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
30
ASINs
7