When I Was Mortal

Twelve short stories by "the most subtle and gifted writer in contemporary Spanish literature" (The Boston Globe)—and the award-winning, international bestselling author of The Infatuations.

Victims of mistaken identity, sponging relatives, amateur sleuths, eavesdroppers, professional liars, assassins, and failed bodyguards populate the short stories in When I Was Mortal. Plots turn on curious exigencies--a woman about to star in her first porn film; a night doctor who adds new meaning to "specialist"; a ghost whose neglect is greatly resented."A great writer." —Salman Rushdie

"A refreshing discovery... [they] should be welcomed here like a bracing tonic." —Chicago Tribune

"Dazzling.... Javier Marías writes with elegance, with wit and with masterful suspense." —The Times Literary Supplement

“His prose demonstrates an unusual blend of sophistication and accessibility.” —The New Yorker JAVIER MARÍAS was born in Madrid in 1951. He has published fifteen novels, including The Infatuations and A Heart So White, as well as three collections of short stories and several volumes of essays. His work has been translated into forty-four languages, has sold more than eight and a half million copies worldwide, and has won a dazzling array of international literary awards, including the prestigious International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the Prix Femina Étranger. He died in 2022.

Translated by Margaret Jull Costa