Culture | Contemplative spy fiction

In Javier Marías’s final novel, an agent confronts his conscience

The hero of “Tomás Nevinson” is plucked from retirement for a tough final mission

BNM8HF A tourist walks in the Mosque and Cathedral of Cordoba, Andalusia, Spain, April 27, 2010.
Just when he thought he was outImage: Alamy

When Javier Marías died last September at the age of 70, he left a richly beguiling, stylistically bold and, above all, original body of work. Whether exploring academic life, marriage or the murky world of espionage, the Spanish author’s novels, written over five decades, blend intellectual inquiry with playful and artful high jinks.

This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Sleeper agent”

From the May 27th 2023 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Culture

Jellycat Fish & Chips Experience at Selfridges, London

Millennials and Gen Z are falling hard for stuffed animals

Plushies are cute, cuddly and costly

The front page of the new issue of satirical French weekly Charlie Hebdo entitled "C'est Reparti" ("Here we go again"), is displayed at a kiosk in Nice February 25, 2015.

Ten years after the Charlie Hebdo massacre, satire is under siege

Public support is waning for the right to offend


Pandemonium. Found in the collection of Louvre, Paris.

Why do rebels and revolutionaries love “Paradise Lost”?

John Milton’s epic poem has galvanised rabble-rousers for centuries


The Colombian powerhouse behind some of streaming’s biggest hits

If you enjoyed “Narcos” or “One Hundred Years of Solitude”, you have Dynamo to thank

What Haruki Murakami’s fans get wrong about him

He is not so much a surrealist as a dogged observer of solitude

The British take their crisps more seriously than any other nation

No other snack bridges the class divide in the same way