A Heart So White
Javier Marias
1992
Around 280 pages
The title of this novel comes from MacBeth, when Lady MacBeth tells her husband: "My hands are of your color but I shame to wear a heart so white." Basically, I've committed the same crimes as you, but you don't have to be such a bitch about it. I loved all the nods to Shakespeare in this novel, and prefer this type of thematic homage to the Bard, rather than another "it's this play, but in a different setting" stories we often get here.
Our narrator Juan has recently married Luisa, and they both work as translators. As a translator, Juan wants to hear everything, but doesn't actually want to know everything. His father, for instance, has been married three times, but the fate of the women is a bit of a mystery.
Marias is an excellent writer. I feel like we really got a chance to understand Juan, whose motivations were at first unclear. At the beginning, I wasn't sure that he loved Luisa, for example. Marias is a methodical writer, and would repeat certain phrases and descriptions, almost like a song. I do think he dragged out the big reveal, but maybe that just means he effectively built tension to the breaking point. And of course, the pay off was worth it and tied in beautifully with the central theme of the novel.
Unfortunately, this is our only Marias. Maybe we could have traded in one of the many Ballard or Rushdie novels on the List for another Marias entry? Another author to explore further in my List afterlife.
RATING: ****-
Interesting Facts:
Received the International Dublin Literary Award in 1997.
UP NEXT: The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulis
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