3.5
Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me
ByPublisher Description
A riveting novel of infidelity and a man trapped by a terrible secret, from "the most subtle and gifted writer in contemporary Spanish literature" (The Boston Sunday Globe)—and the award-winning, international bestselling author of The Infatuations.
"One of the writers who should get the Nobel Prize is Javier Marías." —Orhan Pamuk
Marta has only just met Victor when she invites him to dinner at her Madrid apartment while her husband is away on business. When her two-year-old son finally falls asleep, Marta and Victor retreat to the bedroom. Undressing, she feels suddenly ill; and in his arms, inexplicably, she dies. What should Victor do? Remove the compromising tape from the answering machine? Leave food for the child for breakfast? These are just his first steps, but he soon takes matters further; unable to bear the shadows and the unknowing, Victor plunges into dark waters. And Javier Marías, Europe's master of secrets, of what lies reveal and truth may conceal, is on sure ground in this profound, quirky, and marvelous novel.
"One of the writers who should get the Nobel Prize is Javier Marías." —Orhan Pamuk
Marta has only just met Victor when she invites him to dinner at her Madrid apartment while her husband is away on business. When her two-year-old son finally falls asleep, Marta and Victor retreat to the bedroom. Undressing, she feels suddenly ill; and in his arms, inexplicably, she dies. What should Victor do? Remove the compromising tape from the answering machine? Leave food for the child for breakfast? These are just his first steps, but he soon takes matters further; unable to bear the shadows and the unknowing, Victor plunges into dark waters. And Javier Marías, Europe's master of secrets, of what lies reveal and truth may conceal, is on sure ground in this profound, quirky, and marvelous novel.
Download the free Fable app
Stay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
Rate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
Curate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesStay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building toolRate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tagsCurate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesTomorrow in the Battle Think on Me Reviews
3.5
“While I love Shakespeare, I have yet to read Richard III. The following refrain sets the tone for Marías’ story: “Tomorrow in the battle think on me,
“And fall thy edgeless sword. Despair and die!”
Although Richard III is not part of the traditional Henriad, it shares the same context, and Henry IV’s story is also a prominent theme in this work. I have read some of the Henriad, not all, and I don’t think having read it is necessary to enjoy this book. While I think it might add to your experience, you by no means need to be a lover of Shakespeare to enjoy this.
I do think some of the marketing for this is a misnomer - the concept of a “whodunnit” typically implies the existence of a murder/murderer. And while one could argue some murders do occur if you take the approach discussed in the work of whether the responsibility can be direct or indirect, I don’t know that I would call this any kind of murder mystery.
While it is, in some respects, a mystery, I would not say that’s the main point of the story. Instead, its focus is on secrecy - not necessarily deceit, but instead the withholding of information and what that changes in a narrative. At several points, Deán says that a man might make choices he’d never make if he had only known the things he finds out later - a nice rephrasing of “hindsight’s 20/20”.
The story follows Victor, and we are shown how he has rationalized several decisions related to the night his one night stand dies in his arms. While there are moments where his narration seems unreliable - where he implies that he may be unreliable, overall, you get the sense as a reader that you are supposed to trust him. While there are times where that seems like an insane thing to do (Victor is a bit insane), it is fairly clear that he’s telling the truth… at least about most things.
Victor is a man easily obsessed and the writing shows this through circling back and forth between the present and the past, by retreading the same thought patterns, by constantly showing him fixated on people and moments. He’s never been nonchalant a day in his life. And yet he is ultimately quite restrained. He holds a level of control over an uncontrolled situation, and even when he is exposed, you get the sense that it is what he wants. He expects the child to know him and he does - where Marta’s last thought went is also how the truth ultimately comes to light.
It’s a beautiful work, with language that is grandiose and yet approachable, managing to reference the past while being something fresh and unique. I’ve never read anything like it, although it does remind me of the ways Henry Henry made me want to read the Henriad and Things in Nature Merely Grow made me want to read King John, in that it makes me want to read Richard III so I can understand it in a new way.
It’s one I think would be even better on a second or third read.”
“a pesar de lo mucho que me ha gustado, no puedo evitar el asco que me entra en el cuerpo con algunos pensamientos y escenas misoginas que sobraban por completo.”About Javier Marías
JAVIER MARÍAS was born in Madrid in 1951. He has published fifteen novels, including The Infatuations and A Heart So White, as well as three collections of short stories and several volumes of essays. His work has been translated into forty-four languages, has sold more than eight and a half million copies worldwide, and has won a dazzling array of international literary awards, including the prestigious International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the Prix Femina Étranger. He died in 2022.
Translated by Margaret Jull Costa
Translated by Margaret Jull Costa
Other books by Javier Marías
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?
Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?
How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?
Do you sell physical books too?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?
