The International Dublin Literary Award from the home of literature, proudly sponsored by Dublin City Council
International DUBLIN Literary Award
International DUBLIN Literary Award
       
Facebook Twitter Pinterest linkedin Telegram
International DUBLIN Literary Award
  • Home
  • The Books
    • 2020 Shortlist
  • The Judges
  • The Libraries
  • FAQs
  • The Archive
  • News
Menu
International DUBLIN Literary Award
Sold out
HomeBooks20202020 Translated Berta Isla
Previous product
The Great Believers
Back to products
Next product
Ohio

Berta Isla

Author: Javier Marías

Translated from the Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa

2020 Longlist

Berta Isla and Tomás Nevinson meet in Madrid. Young and in love, they quickly decide to spend their lives together – never suspecting that they will grow to be total strangers, both living under the shadow of disappearances.

Tomás, half-Spanish and half-English, has an extraordinary gift for languages and accents. Leaving Berta to study at Oxford, he catches the interest of a certain government agency, and its mysterious agent, Bertram Tupra. Tomás is determined to evade the agent’s attentions but his fate is sealed by an escalating series of events that will affect the rest of his life – and that of his beloved Berta. Finishing his time at Oxford, he returns to Madrid to marry her, already knowing that the life they planned has been lost forever.

About the Author

Javier Marías is a Spanish author, translator, and columnist. He is one of Spain’s most celebrated novelists, and his work has been translated into over 40 languages including English. He has received numerous literary prizes including the International Dublin Literary Award in 1997 for A Heart So White and the Prix Formentor in 2013. Javier Marías lives and works in Madrid.

Librarian’s Comments

Berta Isla is a complex and layered novel. It offers an exploitative psychological story of the wedding of Berta Isla and her charming husband Tomás Nevinson, as well as an unexpected approach to a spy novel. Berta Isla and Tomás meet at school and become a couple. Tomás is Anglo-Spanish and has a special talent for languages. He gets recruited by MI6 during his studies at Oxford. He returns to Madrid as an embassy employee without Berta. Suspecting his double life, we get typical Marías ingredients: waiting, uncertainty, self-deception and not  knowing one another. The novel is written in a beautiful style using winding sentences. The atmospheric setting in time, the psychological observations and the meandering rhythm of the story enchanting. Openbare Bibliotheek Brugge, Belgium

 

  • Additional information
  • Libraries Ireland - Find This Book
Additional information
Author

Javier Marías

Country

ES

Nominating Library

Openbare Bibliotheek Brugge, Belgium

Publisher

Hamish Hamilton Ltd.

Libraries Ireland - Find This Book

Libraries Ireland Encore System

Search for this book in the Dublin City Library Encore system and arrange a suitable location for loaning it.

Search Encore for Berta Isla

This search result is offered as a helping hand to find books in the Library Ireland Encore System. Some results may not be accurate where book titles have common words with similar titles. 

Categories: 2020, 2020 Translated
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest linkedin Telegram
ABOUT DUBLIN CITY LIBRARY & ARCHIVE

Dublin City Libraries, a service of Dublin City Council, is Ireland’s largest library service, with responsibility for the delivery of high quality, effective public library, information and archive services to a resident population of over half a million people.

Designated as a UNESCO City of Literature in 2010, Dublin City Libraries aims to maximise opportunity for all – individuals and communities – through guided access to ideas, learning, literature, information and heritage resources supported by cultural programming.

Cookie Information

This website uses Cookies. Continued use of the site will be deemed as your acceptance of this necessity.

Quick Links
  • Home
  • The Books
    • 2020 Shortlist
  • The Judges
  • The Libraries
  • FAQs
  • The Archive
  • News
International DUBLIN Literary Award Office. Dublin City Library & Archive. 138 - 144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2. Ireland. Email: literaryaward@dublincity.ie. Tel +353 1 6744802. Copyright © 2019 Dublin City Libraries.
Website by JET Design
close
Start typing to see products you are looking for.
  • Home
  • The Books
  • The Judges
  • The Libraries
  • FAQs
  • The Archive
  • News
Scroll To Top