A Heart So White
語り手が結婚と父の過去をたどるうちに、沈黙と秘密が家族の関係を形づくっていく様子を描く内省的な長篇。過去と現在、言葉と沈黙が静かに反響し合い、真実の輪郭が少しずつ立ち上がる。
作品情報
結婚と父の過去を手がかりに、沈黙の奥にある真実が少しずつ見えてくる。
マリアスの代表作のひとつとして知られる、緻密で格調ある語りの長篇。日常の会話や回想の断片から、家族の歴史に潜む不安や隠蔽が立ち上がる。
レビュー要約
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静かな語りと心理の掘り下げが強く支持され、読後に長く残る余韻を評価する声が多い。一方で、じっくり進む構成に距離を感じる読者もいる。
書籍情報
- 出版社
- HarperCollins
- 発売日
- 1996-02-01
- ページ数
- 278ページ
- 言語
- 英語
- サイズ
- 13.97 x 2.54 x 22.23 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9781860460029
- ISBN-10
- 186046002X
- 価格
- 2799 JPY
- カテゴリ
- 洋書/Romance/Romantic Suspense
Juan knows little about his widowed father Ranz, a man with a troubled past; if he has been told no lies, that is because he has asked no questions. All he does know is that before marrying Juan's mother Ranz was married to her elder sister and she had committed suicide. The unspoken dialogue between father and son, however, is to become a spelling out of the horrifying truth once Juan has been married for a year to Luisa, and the bride turns discreet confessor to the burdened old man. What gradually emerges into the cold light of day is a repetition of scenes already witnessed by Juan in the course of his travels - of a married man blackmailed by his mistress in a Havana hotel, of a woman in New York pursuing a sequence of shabby lovers through the lonely-hearts columns. With remarkable skill and delicacy Javier Marias builds up his colours to produce a startling picture of two generations, two marriages, and of the secret commerce between spouses that rests on the gossamer-thin threads of an unspoken accord.
Born in 1951 in Madrid, Javier Marias has published twenty books and is a literary phenomenon worldwide. Translated into twenty-eight languages, his books have sold more than three and a half million copies--an amazing quantity for so literary a writer. He has collected a dazzling array of awards, including for A Heart So White the Dublin IMPAC Prize for the best novel published worldwide in English in 1996.
レビュー
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A Heart So White : why did she shoot herself ??
At the heart of a Marias novel is some deep , imponderable mystery that slowly takes shape. As well as entertain his writing usually informs. Here its mostly about marriage + what it does to people. how it changes them. And about infidelity + suspicions of infidelity. The pillow talk that passes between lovers. Then there's this Proustian meditation about time and its passage. And the usual homage to Shakespeare - this time its the tragedy of Macbeth. Then there's this fascination with women. Clearly he finds women beguiling , deep + mysterious , bewitching. The mystery at the heart of A Heart So White , as usual , is a woman. Why does newly wed Teresa come home from her honeymoon , go into the bathroom and shoot herself in the heart ?? And years later , when the narrator is on his honeymoon , who is the woman with the strong legs in the short skirt who mistakes him for her lover ?? . And what of the intimate thoughts of the unnamed British politician who just might be Margaret Thatcher ?
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Go for it
What a book
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Exceptional!
“A Heart So White” by Javier Marías is a haunting, intelligent exploration of secrecy, marriage, and the things left unsaid. With hypnotic prose and psychological depth, Marías pulls readers into the mind of a newlywed translator whose quiet life is unsettled by a series of unsettling discoveries. Elegant and thought-provoking, this novel slowly builds suspense through language and atmosphere rather than action—perfect for readers who enjoy literary fiction that lingers in the mind long after the final page. A masterclass in introspective storytelling so exceptional that I bought a Romanian copy for a dear friend who loved it and devoured whilst o holiday on a beach in Italy!
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Five Stars
This book is rich with philosophical and psychological insights.
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Too much of a good thing.
Could not get past first page. No respite for the work weary. I thought I would enjoy his style after the first (The Man Of Feeling), but weary very soon of it.
関連する文学賞
- 国際ダブリン文学賞 第2回（1997年） ・Winner・Winner