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Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me
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Wikipedia article
'Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me' (Spanish: 'Maana en la batalla piensa en m') by Javier Maras was first published in 1994. Margaret Jull Costas English translation was published by The Harvill Press in 1996. The title is taken from William Shakespeare's 'Richard III', Act V, Scene 3.
When his would-be lover, another man's wife, dies suddenly in his arms, the narrator Victor is faced with the dilemma of whether to contact help or her family, or to quit the scene without admitting his presence, and chooses the latter option. This brings about many unforeseen consequences for the narrator and for others. The protagonist's profession is that of ghostwriter.
Literary significance and reception
The novel garnered acclaim in Europe. Michael Wood, writing in the 'London Review of Books', wrote "'Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me', probably offers the deepest immersion in Marass haunted universe." A reviewer in 'Kirkus Reviews' criticized "Victor's exhaustively extended digressive monologues, which are filled with apposite but monotonous Shakespearean quotations". Though the reviewer still praised the character's complexity and described the novel as "intriguing psychodrama of sex, guilt, and social satire".
In 'The New York Times', Liam Callanan wrote that the novel's construction "is occasionally breathtaking but more often overtaxed by Maras's penchant for allusive detail. Chasing associations across continents and centuries, [Maras] assembles layers of meaning that, at their best, are dazzling, but otherwise trail off into dizzy ponderousness." A reviewer in 'Publishers Weekly' described the novel as "rather forced and drawn-out [...] the main impression Marias's novel leaves is of an author trying to impose a philosophic pattern on material that resists it."
References
Category:1994 novels
Category:20th-century Spanish novels
Category:Novels by Javier Maras
Category:Editorial Anagrama books
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