#FridayReads: The Infatuations By Javier Marias

The award-winning, internationally best-selling Spanish writer joins the Knopf list with an immersive, provocative novel propelled by a seemingly random murder that we come to understand–or do we?–through one woman’s ever-unfurling imagination, meditations, and infatuations.


At the Madrid café where she stops for breakfast each day before work, María Dolz finds herself drawn to a couple who is also there every morning. Though she can hardly explain it, observing what she imagines to be their unblemished life lifts her out of the doldrums of her own existence. But what begins as mere observation turns into an increasingly complicated entanglement when the man is brutally murdered. 


María approaches the widow to offer her condolences, and at the couple’s home she meets–and falls in love with–a man who sheds disturbing new light on the crime. As María recounts this story, we are given a murder mystery brilliantly reimagined as metaphysical enquiry, a novel that grapples with questions of love and death, chance and coincidence, and above all, with the slippery essence of the truth and how it is told.


JAVIER MARÍAS was born in Madrid in 1951. The recipient of numerous prizes, he has written thirteen novels, three story collections, and fifteen works of collected articles and essays. His books have been translated into forty languages, in fifty countries, and have sold more than 6 million copies throughout the world. 

Spread the love

More Articles for You

On Growing up in East Harlem: Italian (Barese) and Puerto Rican Heritage

I was thrilled to chat with podcaster, and fellow author and family historian Bob Sorrentino earlier this month. During our …

Spread the love

Food Culture: The Best Podcast for “Top Chef” Fans

The food we eat, how we eat and prepare it is so intricately tied to our culture, our heritage and …

Spread the love

The “Frida In Her Own Words” Documentary Is Phenomenal

This lyrical animation inspired by her unforgettable artwork, drawn from her diary, revealing letters, essays, and print interviews for the …

Spread the love

Reading Haiti: 5 Books to Explore Its History and Culture

Edwidge Danticat is one of Haiti’s most celebrated authors. Her notable works include “Breath, Eyes, Memory,” “Krik? Krak!,” and “The …

Spread the love

Finding Relief: 5 Books to Help Manage Chronic Pain

Living with chronic pain can be challenging, but there are resources available to help navigate this journey. Whether you’re looking …

Spread the love

Frida Kahlo As An Iconic Disability Advocate

PBS is once again featuring Frida Kahlo in a new three part documentary series, airing now that seeks to to …

Spread the love