Berta Isla

'For a while, she wasn't sure that her husband was her husband. Sometimes she thought he was, and sometimes not.'

Berta and Tomás meet in Madrid and, though both young, they decide to spend their lives together. Eighteen and betrothed, Tomás leaves to study at Oxford. His talent for languages quickly catches the interest of a certain government agency, but Tomás resists their offers - until one day he makes a mistake that will affect the rest of his life, and that of his beloved Berta. After university he returns to marry her, knowing he won't be able to stay for long . . .

Gripping and intricate, Berta Isla is about a relationship built on secrets and lies - and the counter forces of resentment and loyalty at its core.
Marías weaves a thrilling and desolate meditation on the psychic costs of the deep state's dark arts.
1843 Magazine

About Javier Marías

Javier Marías was born in Madrid in 1951 and died in 2022. He published fifteen novels, three collections of short stories and several volumes of essays. His work has been translated into forty-three languages and has won a dazzling array of international literary awards, including the prestigious Dublin IMPAC award for A Heart So White. He held academic posts in Spain, the United States and in Britain, as Lecturer in Spanish Literature at Oxford University.
Details
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • ISBN: 9780241983560
  • Length: 352 pages
  • Price: £7.99
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