Javier Marias The Infatuations

July / August, 2013

THE NATIONAL BOOKAWARD WINNER TALKSABOUT HIS NEW NOVEL,TRANSATLANTICQ: Had you avoided writ­ing about the Troubles in Ireland before?A: I hadn't consciously avoided it. It's one of the great stories I've wanted to tell since I was a child. I just wasn't ready to fullytalk about it until now. Q: Did winning the National Book Award for Let the Great World Spin change the way you approached this book? A: Yeah. It completely ter­rified me. I could either come quickly out of the gate and try to get a...