All Souls (novel)

All Souls is a 2008 novel by American author Javier Marías. It is a semi-autobiographical work, fictionalizing Marías's experiences as a visiting professor at the University of Oxford in the 1980s. The novel explores themes of memory, history, translation, love, and the ambiguous nature of truth.

The narrative follows a Spanish lecturer who spends two years at Oxford, focusing on the complex relationships he develops, particularly with a married woman. The protagonist grapples with the weight of the past, the difficulties of communication, and the pervasive feeling of being an outsider in a foreign land. Oxford itself is portrayed as a place steeped in history and tradition, a backdrop against which the characters' personal dramas unfold. The novel's title, "All Souls," refers to All Souls College, Oxford, a highly prestigious institution.

Marías's distinctive writing style, characterized by long, digressive sentences and introspective musings, is prominent in "All Souls." The novel offers a thoughtful and often melancholic exploration of human relationships and the elusiveness of meaning.