Berta Isla

MEJOR LIBRO DEL A O SEG N BABELIA (EL PA S) Seleccionado entre los mejores libros del a o en ABC Cultural y La Vanguardia. Recomendado entre los libros del a o por El Peri dico y La Raz n. La nueva novela de Javier Mar as. Un d a cualquiera, un d a est pido , condicionar el resto de su existencia. La envolvente y apasionante historia de una espera. Durante un tiempo no estuvo segura de si su marido era su marido. A veces cre a que s , a veces cre a que no, y a veces decid a no creer nada y seguir viviendo su vida con l, o con aquel hombre semejante a l, mayor que l. Pero tambi n ella se hab a hecho mayor por su cuenta, en su ausencia, era muy joven cuando se cas . Muy j venes se conocieron Berta Isla y Tom s Nevinson en Madrid, y muy pronta fue su determinaci n de pasar la vida juntos, sin sospechar que los aguardaba una convivencia intermitente y despu s una desaparici n. Tom s, medio espa ol y medio ingl s, es un superdotado para las lenguas y los acentos, y eso hace que, durante sus estudios en Oxford, la Corona ponga sus ojos en l. Un d a cualquiera, un d a est pido que se podr a haber ahorrado, condicionar el resto de su existencia, as como la de su mujer. Berta Isla es la envolvente y apasionante historia de una espera y de una evoluci n, la de su protagonista. Tambi n de la fragilidad y la tenacidad de una relaci n amorosa condenada al secreto y a la ocultaci n, al fingimiento y a la conjetura, y en ltima instancia al resentimiento mezclado con la lealtad. O, como dice una cita de Dickens hacia el final del libro, es la muestra de que cada coraz n palpitante es un secreto para el coraz n m s pr ximo, el que dormita y late a su lado . Y es tambi n la historia de quienes quieren parar desgracias e intervenir en el universo, para acabar encontr ndose desterrados de l. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION The new novel by Javier Mar as. A typical day, "a stupid day," will determine the rest of their existence.

The engrossing, thrilling story of waiting. "For awhile, she wasn't sure if her husband was her husband. Sometimes she thought so, sometimes she thought not, and sometimes she decided not to believe anything and to keep living her life with him, or with that man who seemed like him, but older. But she had also become older because of him, in his absence; she had been very young when they got married." Berta Isla and Tom s Nevinson met each other in Madrid at a very early age, and quickly decided to spend their lives together, never suspecting that an intermittent coexistence--and later, a disappearance--awaited them. Tom s, half Spanish and half English, is exceptionally gifted at languages and accents, which attracts the eye of the Crown during his studies at Oxford. One typical day, "a stupid day," which could have been spared, will determine the rest of his existence, as well as that of his wife. Berta Isla is the engrossing, thrilling story of a wait and an evolution: that of its protagonist. And also of the fragility and tenacity of a loving relationship condemned to secrets and concealment, to pretenses and speculation, and finally, to resentment mixed with loyalty. Or, as a Dickens quote toward the end of the book states, it is the proof that "every beating heart ...] is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it." And it is also the story of those who want to stop misfortune and intervene in the universe, only to end up finding themselves banished from it.