Javier Marías

When I Was Mortal is a short story collection by the Spanish writer Javier Marías. It was translated into English by Margaret Jull Costa and published in the United States in 2002 by New Directions.

A gem of a Marías story: Elvis and his entourage abandon their translator in a seedy cantina full of enraged criminals. “It all happened because of Elvis Presley.” Elvis, down south of the border to film a movie, has insisted his producers hire a proper Spaniard so that he can pronounce his few lines in Spanish with a …