What We Become: Pérez-Reverte’s superb maturity

I came to this novel a bit by chance: in the large section devoted to the author at a neighbourhood library I recently discovered while walking with my little one.

Pérez-Reverte was my favorite writer during my teenage years.

I drifted away from him at the umpteenth Alatriste instalment, a saga I’ve always considered minor compared with his “serious” novels.

The thing is, last year, during the long stretches of reading that came with the difficult pregnancy we went through, I came back to him.

And down they came, one after another:

• Sidi.
• The (then) Falcó trilogy.
• Line of Fire.

And I don’t remember whether there were any others.

I got hooked on his work again and, seeing the selection the library had, I chose The Final Problem.

Pérez-Reverte paying homage to my beloved Sherlock Holmes promised to be unbeatable.

It wasn’t.

But the next novel I borrowed from the library —this one— absolutely was.

A great choice.

I’ll tell you why.

What the novel is about

Well, it’s hard to explain without spoilers, but let’s try.

Let’s say two timelines overlap with the same protagonists. And the sections of each chapter alternate between one and the other.

It begins in the present, where Max —the male lead, whose point of view the book follows— is already older when, to his surprise, he sees Mecha one day, an old acquaintance and the book’s female lead.

From there, the present timeline unfolds through memories, things that might have been and were not, and chess games that will decide the world champion.

Interwoven with that, the past timeline tells how Max and Mecha met, how they parted ways and how they met again a few years later.

It is here, amid drinks, luxury and dancing, that the weight of time is seen by contrast, along with the different views of life we have in youth, in full maturity and in near-old age.

As you can see, I’m not telling you much. Basically because I don’t want to spoil a single thing. I want you to enjoy the endings of each chapter as much as I did.

That said, don’t think this is a relationship story where events are secondary.

Not at all.

There is action here. And events of varying importance keep unfolding without pause.

But I want you to discover them yourself.

What I liked

Everything.

The pace.

The dialogue.

The depth of the characters.

The situations.

The endings of each chapter.

The descriptions, which place you right in the middle of each setting. And make you want to visit them more than any Instagram reel.

Even the introductions to the history of tango and, to a lesser extent, the chess notes.

I would say the most remarkable thing is the fusion of many themes in the work, where each ingredient (love, luxury, dance, chess, places, characters, social differences, desires, ambitions…) is added in exactly the right measure.

Everything is in its place. That makes the book grab you and keeps you from wanting to stop reading.

It had been a long time since a book grabbed me like this.

What didn’t thrill me

Perhaps that there is something in the protagonists that I have already seen in other books by the Cartagena-born writer.

He is very handsome.

Like Falcó.

Like Father Quart (from The Seville Communion)).

Like the Italian.

And he handles difficult situations well.

Like Falcó.

Like Captain Alatriste.

Like the Italian.

And we could say much the same about Mecha, since there are facets of her that will remind us of one or another protagonist from some earlier work of his.

It is clear that the writer has an archetype of protagonists that, to a greater or lesser extent, most of his main characters share.

And yet, in this book Pérez-Reverte manages to give Max and Mecha a different finish. A deeper, more complex layer than usual.

In a way it surprised me. Because I did not expect it, and it is not necessary for the book to work as it does. But it adds something—boy, does it add something. And it contrasts with The Final Problem.

Conclusion

I loved it. It gave me the same feelings as his best books. And that is not easy, because there are not that many works that manage it.

It reminds me why I love reading so much, something the books by John le Carré and by Kafka that I have read lately have not managed to do. Not even close.

The Cartagena-born writer said he considered it his best work.

I wouldn’t go that far, but I would say it is among his best.

Considering that he is an author who has written more than 30 books and does not have a bad one, that should give you an idea of the level.

Besides, I want to add one nuance.

These latest works by Pérez-Reverte that I am reading seem to have been written by an author more mature. More seasoned (still). Calmer.

It is no longer all energy and the willpower of the protagonists.

There is more.

And this more measured style is reflected in his writing. Better still: it fits my current self in the same way the earlier style fit my adolescence.

So, if you like the style of his novels even a little —certainly far removed from his opinion columns— you’ll have a great time.

I don’t have much more to add. Well, yes: I’m off to check whether Tough Dogs Don’t Dance is as good as this one.

I’ll tell you.

Technical sheet

Field	Data
Title	What We Become
Author	Arturo Pérez-Reverte
Original publisher	Alfaguara
Paperback edition publisher	Debolsillo
Original publication year	2012
Original publication date	November 21, 2012
Debolsillo edition date	May 2015 / May 7, 2015
Pages	504 in the Alfaguara edition / 496 in the Debolsillo edition
Format	Paperback in Alfaguara / mass-market paperback in Debolsillo
Collection	Alfaguara / Best Seller in Debolsillo
Original language	Spanish
Country	Spain
Genre	Contemporary literature, historical novel, romance, intrigue, adventure
Main characters	Max Costa, Mecha Inzunza
Setting	Buenos Aires in 1928, Nice during the years of the Spanish Civil War and Sorrento in the 1960s
Main themes	Love, memory, desire, ambition, the passage of time, tango, chess, espionage
ISBN Alfaguara edition	9788420413099
ISBN Debolsillo edition	9788490626580
Premise	Max Costa and Mecha Inzunza meet again over several decades in a story of love, intrigue and decisions shaped by time.