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Infatuations, The

Marias, Javier

  7 Reviews

Frequenter of a local cafe, Maria Dolz becomes intrigued by a seemingly perfect couple who regularly occupy a nearby table. But there is to be no perfect life ahead for Luisa and Miguel: Miguel is murdered in broad daylight in a busy Madrid street, something Maria would not question but for overhearing a disturbing conversation concerning the planning and execution of a murder ...

With its metaphysical and literary underpinnings, this murder mystery with a difference provides in its slow unravelling many opportunities to dwell on the deep questions of life and human motivation.

Comments from Groups

'The Infatuations' inspired a mixed response: from "intense and brilliant" to "too slow and convoluted." Generally however, our group admired the writing style. One member marvelled at how much 'introspection and mental gymnastics" could be created from one incident. Motueka 001

Those who managed to finish the book had an animated discussion re the idea of non-culpable murder, and the feelings and emotions involved in the whole process. Some thought this was a well written novel - more literary than easy-reading, and at times a little wordy. An interesting read, and did provoke thought and discussion. Dunedin 039

While the plot was interesting and credible, we found the writing style verbose and tedious. Matamata 002

This book was challenging to read, and some did not persist. However, our discussion was lively and enlightened us further...Wellington 079

The author uses his story of a murder as a vehicle to discuss a number of philosophical ideas with great skill. Lots to think about! Hamilton 024

Pages
346
Year
2013

Reviews

LOWER 013
26-06-2024
Interesting story with some tension building. The writing style was found to be irritating, and skim reading appeared the norm.
WAIKA 011
26-06-2024
Interesting book but three found it so wordy! Others persevered and thoroughly enjoyed it especially the insights into grief and separation. A mixed bag but did engender discussion.
AUCK 189
26-05-2021
A number didn't read it or skimmed it. They found it too 'dense". The huge sentences and entire chapters as the main character 'conjectured' were just too much. I loved the language, but it was almost too much to fit in in a month!
NELS 042
26-05-2021
Most of us didn't finish this book due to the long-winded phrasing. Good plot maybe, but could have been told in fewer words.
CHCH 095
26-05-2021
Half the group didn't manage to finish the book. But we all enjoyed a lively and interesting discussion.
HAMIL 024
26-05-2021
The author uses his story of a murder as a vehicle to discuss a number of philosophical ideas with great skill. Lots to think about!
TAUR 016
26-05-2021
'The Infatuations' had a mixed reception. 4 of our 9 members present did not finish reading the book - predominantly because of the style of prose and the continual introspection. The others were rewarded with a very satisfactory ending, and there was a big discussion regarding the male writer's presentation of the female lead protagonist. We were pleased we persisted!