Review of 'Thus Bad Begins' by Javier Marias

It feels like forever since I've sat down to write a book review, and it seems that despite promising myself I'd use December to catch up on the massively mounting pile of reviews I haven't written, *checks notes* this is the first one I've actually done this month. So it's clearly going well. 

Thus Bad Begins was a bit of a weird one to try and place, in my opinion. Reading it, I imagined it was written in the mid-twentieth century, or earlier, but it was actually published in 2014. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just had a much more classic vibe, so I was shocked when I realised how recently the book was written. 

Set in the 1980s, the main character Juan de Vere is the assistant of a prominent film director, Eduardo Muriel. He lives in Muriel's house and observes the breakdown in Muriel's marriage to his wife Beatriz. He's witness to Eduardo's coldness in his behaviour to her, her weeping and their arguments. At the same time, he's convinced that Dr Van Vechten, who often visits the house, is cruel to women and starts to follow him to investigate his life. 

This was a much longer book than I expected it to be, and in all honesty not masses happened in it in comparison to its length. However, it was incredibly well written. This was a kindle read for me, so I only read it before bed each night, but it took a couple of months to finish. I didn't lose interest in it, or forget what happened as I was reading, which often happens if a book takes so long to get through. I really wanted to know what the issues that Beatriz had that were hinted at, and to discover what was happening with van Vechten.

This is one of, if not the, most sensitive and astute book that I've read that deals with mental health issues that isn't a YA read. It discusses depression and suicide in a way that's neither brash or flippant or even patronising. These are part of the characters' lives and form a natural part of the narrative. It looks at manipulation, deceit and gendered power relations in a really strong way. I've given it four stars because, despite its length, it was a well-written, insightful read.

I would recommend this if you like books like 'Love in the Time of Cholera' or are interested in reading a book by a Spanish author.

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