The Man with No Borders

by Richard C. Morais

A father comes to terms with his mortality and secrets in a heartrending novel of family and forgiveness from the New York Times bestselling author of The Hundred-Foot Journey . It is a time of reckoning for José María Álvarez, an aristocratic Spanish banker living in a Swiss village with his American wife. Nearing the end of a long and tumultuous life, he’s overcome by hallucinatory memories of the past. Among his most cherished memories are those of his boyhood in 1950s Franco-era Spain and the bucolic afternoons he spent salmon fishing on the Sella River with his father, uncle, and much-loved younger brother. But these fond reveries are soon eclipsed by something greater. José’s regrets and dark family secrets are flooding back, as is the devastating tragedy that drove José into exile and makes him bear the burden of a soul-deep guilt. Now, as his three estranged sons return to their father’s side, José hopes to outpace death long enough to finally put his house in order and exorcise its demons. Only in his quest for redemption can José begin to understand the meaning of his life―and what his legacy has meant to others.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Spain, Contemporary, Audiobook, Book Club

316 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2019

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Private banking has always been and will always be a business of secrets and discretion. But we've now entered a new era of transparency between nations and between private institutions and the public that has caused all of that to change. This is an odd place to start a review of a lyrical and moving, character-driven novel. But at the heart of this book are the secrets that sustain us as individuals and that sustain our businesses and support fortunes, and how they also eat us alive.

This isn't just a book about a Spanish banker, José María Álvarez, who comes to terms with his mortality. It's about a man coming to terms with his morality -- his creed and ethos. Is he a good man? I think he ism ultimately. But the reader would have to be charitable about that. He has certainly meant well. But he has also gone into partnership with narcotics dealers, weapons dealers and tax evaders and built a legacy so tarnished that none of his sons want much part of it.

This is a fun book, it explores big issues of personality and society and there are lush descriptions of Spanish life that evoke Hemingway, including salmon fishing adventures, crave-inducing meals (this is the author of "The 100 Foot Journey," after all) and a remarkable cameo by Franco.

I was fortunate to read this book in gallows, months ago, and am only reviewing it today, from memory. I can attest that it's a book that stays with you and that's rare.

[Steve Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

The other reviews accurately describe what this book was about, so I'll not repeat what they said other than to say it was well written and compelling. I rated it 3 stars because the endless highly detailed descriptions of fishing salmon on the fly were tedious and, for me, over the top and boring. The point could have been made without the tedium even though it was essential to the story.

[Kim W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rarely give 5 stars. I woke up thinking about this book after staying up WAY too late to finish it. My mind is still swirling with feelings. A powerful visual and emotional story with lots of amorphous visions that disappear when you try to touch them. Hard to explain. What is true? What is memory? What remains? What matters?

[Alesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jose, an aristocratic Spanish banker living in Switzerland, is facing death. His cancer has returned, and he has very little time left. He has amassed billions, but been a real jerk while doing it, wronging those he loved the most. Now he has to face his guilt (we only learn, piece by piece, what this guilt is all about as the book unfolds), and lifelong selfishness and greed.

His three sons are estranged from him. His long-suffering American wife has no idea what his deepest secrets are. Much of his money is dirty, laundered for Latin American politicians and rogues. His life is a mess.

His greatest passion in life has been fly fishing. In fact, there's a fascinating part of the book about meeting Franco while fishing in 1950's Spain. The book is filled with fish allusions, metaphors and stories. But as the story novel on, the fishing escapades are increasingly described as carnage, killing scores of fish at a time for ego and glory.

Jose is a hard person to like. If he wasn't dying, empathizing with him would be next to impossible. However, we get to watch him unpeel the onion skins of his heart, which is very gratifying to witness. The finale makes it totally worthwhile.

I found this book intriguing. Published in 2019, it contains a lot of very current ideas, such as denouncing machismo and the senseless waste of sports fishing and hunting. We get to view the life of the uber-rich, and see that they are certainly no happier than the rest of us, despite all their wealth. But the most appealing aspect of the book, for me, was the author's ability to showcase the humanity within each of us, and illustrate the way that we all seek atonement (and desperately need forgiveness, no matter how undeserved) as we near life's end.

[Barbara Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written compelling story

This is one of the more unique books I have read. The story moved back and forth from the protagonist's memories to present day. He is a highly flawed human being trying to make sense of amends for the life that he has lived. It is fascinating to go on this journey with him. My only reservation in recommending the book is that his moral flaws were distasteful to my sensibilities. If immorality does not bother you, the book may be more enjoyable for you. I don't believe that every life and every relationship is plagued by betrayal and sexual perversion but more often than not that is what we are served by the artistic creators of today. Perhaps it is a generational preference but I miss the trustworthy, admirable protagonists of yesterday. All that being said, it was a thought provoking read.

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jose Maria Alvarez is a wealthy banker who is dying from cancer and refuses further treatment. He left Spain at a young age at the request of Franco who envied him his ability to fish. Now he lives in Switzerland with his wife and is estranged from his three sons. As his mind deteriorates he remembers his past fishing with his father and brother on the Sella River. For myself there was too much about fishing and banking. The author also threw in a bunch of Spanish without a clear definition of what it meant. The descriptions of the area were beautifully written but I just didn't like Jose. As a teenager he was very judgmental and never outgrew that, expecting everyone to bend to his will. Lisa, his wife, is a shadowy figure, at times very supportive of him but I never got a sense that they were the soul mates that he said they were. I think all she really wanted was peace and quiet no matter what. I was originally going to give the book 3 or 4 stars because it was beautifully written and the story did flow but then at around 60% it was revealed that Jose did something that I found disgusting and from that point on there was no redemption for the character. Without giving away anything I was not disgusted with who he was with but simply that he broke a trust.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. If I’m honest, I felt that I would give it three stars through most of my reading. I upped it to four stars upon completing the book. It is an extremely well written book with a compelling story about a man at the end of his life trying to make amends for all his shortcomings. I didn’t particularly enjoy the fly fishing descriptions that were essential to the story and I didn’t like one of his “sins” and the descriptions of that part of his life. These were my feelings, not a reflection of the book itself. At the end of the book, I felt that the author had told a memorable story that was a more than satisfying read.

[Kelley Kimble · Rating 3 out of 5]

Travel day. Free kindle read on Amazon First Reads. Not bad. Not great. I loved the fly fishing.

[Cookie M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

For most of this book it was running about three stars in my mind. The solid European male dominant masculinity of the title character made him particularly unappealing to me. Even though I knew he was bound for A recognition of his life's errors, just reading about his wealthy, privileged entitlement, his attitude that he knew best on everything, his callous misanthropy made me, at times wish I was there to slap his smug face.
The ending redeemed his story.
The telling itself was full of beautiful descriptive prose which brought to life the countryside of Spain and Switzerland and some wonderful people.
This is a book of pain, of sin and redemption, Morris brings the reader into the pain, both physical, emotional and spiritual so they can experience the peace of redemption and reconciliation at the end.

[Kerry Clair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. What a book.

I just finished this book, and I am quite at a loss for words. I will have to come back and review it at a future time. It was quite a book ... and I need some thought to be put in before writing this review. A simple, basic review would not do it justice. Definitely take the time to read this one. You will not be sorry.

[Pc · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very, very strong four stars from me.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Man with No Borders is masterful storytelling craftsmanship. Richard Morais artfully takes you through the life of Jose Maria and his personal life reflections as he seeks atonement.

[Nikhil Hutheesing · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I finished reading Richard Morais' latest book, The Man With No Borders, I took a breath so deep my wife asked what was wrong. Nothing, I told her. I was mesmerized.....and spent.

Morais had just taken me on an amazing journey through the pain, delusions and hidden secrets of Jose Maria Alvarez de Oviedo, a wealthy private banker, as he approaches the end of his life.

While it may sound as if this novel is incredibly sad, it is actually uplifting.

The story describes Jose, who dearly loves his wife and sons and tries to live up to their expectations. But as many fathers do, he falters—often. In the process, his family ends up disappointed in him, and he in them. Jose finds solace in certain indiscretions, but that only adds to his burden, as he keeps them secret for most of his life.

As his end nears, Jose has to come to terms with his past and decide how to leave his massive fortune. The choices he makes serve as a revelation to the reader. After Jose passes away, his wife and kids convene to review his Will and in a short amount of time their long-held views of him change. This happens not because of the wealth he leaves, though they do have views on that. Rather, it’s about what his decisions represent—his deep understanding of each member of his family and what they need to bolster their own ambitions. In his final act, Jose alters the way his family will remember him, leaving a legacy determined by him, not by the unfortunate relationships and events of his life.

While this is heavy stuff, Morais’ book is easy-to-read and a real page-turner. There’s plenty of humor, and scenes take place in breathtaking locales such as the rich salmon fishing waters of Spain’s Sella River, a cliff path that “meanders through orange-red flowers of pagoda plants” in Kerala, India and the Niederdorf district of Zurich, the city where the family lives. Appearances by General Franco and the unraveling of secret Swiss bank accounts add depth and context.

I highly recommend The Man With No Borders.

[Méganne Hamelin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Très bien écrit, descriptions +++. J’ai bien aimé les parties où il décrit son enfance, surtout lorsqu’il est en Espagne avec sa famille. Mixed-feeling pour le personnage principal, parfois de la pitié, parfois de la frustration sur ses choix de vie.

[Angela Mcowan · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading other reviews, I was looking forward to this, particularly as I’m very interested in Spanish history, but I found the style of writing very jarring and couldn’t get into it at all.

[Mayten · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Man With No Borders ultimately is a metaphor about environmental degradation in the guise of a rich man’s biography.
This is a beautifully written book. The author manages to slip effortlessly from a reportorial style into dazzling images with a minimum of verbiage. For example: "The wind was blowing hard, as it always does in Iceland, but that afternoon the arctic sun was also bright in the sky, and it was making every wind-buffeted blade of tundra grass and shard of rock glint as if made from diamonds." This facility made the descriptions of illness and dying emotionally affecting, even when you didn’t particularly care for the man involved.
That alone kept me reading page after page about fly fishing (similar to Melville’s inexhaustible lectures about whale hunting) and an arrogant, narcissistic billionaire. Halfway through we are given a clue to the connection. During a negotiation over ownership of the family’s bank, an opponent says: “I have seen this young man fish, Señor Martin. Cuidado. He has the stomach for the kill. It’s not a problem for him. I advise you not to take that position.” Even so, it didn’t explain why I should care to read about such a man.
But somewhere around two-thirds in the strong-man biography starts to unravel in ways that the author doesn’t explain. (The point would be better explained using an example, but that would be a spoiler.) His strong ego is no longer a virtue; it is seen as mere selfishness. As a son tells him: “Dad, that’s the third time tonight you took more than your fair share of the food. There are other people at the table here, you know.” The fly fishing was the epitome of that self-indulgence. “We slaughtered fish because we could, to inflate our importance, to satisfy our greed, to score points, to show off how we could throw a fly.” And now the fish are gone.
What Barbara Kingsolver did for butterflies (Flight Behavior) and Richard Powers (The Overstory) did for forests, Morais does for fish. Kingsolver and, especially, Powers made the connection obvious and placed their heroes in more relatable circumstances. Morais suggests immense wealth, once used to run roughshod over the world, can now save the problems. In all three, however, the main characters stand in for all of us. (After all, compared to butterflies and fish and even forests, we all are immensely wealthy.) But in all cases the problem is defined as smaller (albeit better addressed in a non-dystopian novel) than the immensity we face: restocking salmon rivers versus stopping climate change. Nevertheless, all three are worth reading.

[Camille · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fly fishing and family take centre stage in this fab book about how the thing that brings you together can also be something that keeps you apart.

Jose Maria is terminally ill and he realises that his amassed fortune means very little as he is estranged from his three sons. The Man with No Borders follows Jose Maria's flashbacks to some of his triumphs and when he was happiest, but mostly to the regrets which haunt him because he hasn't atoned for what he did or how he acted.

This story shows the fragility in familial bond and while it's never to late to be proud of your children's achievements, you will miss so much if you withhold your affection and admiration until the end.

I loved the settings in Basque country and Switzerland and the twists and turns of the story as we learn more about how and why Jose Maria got to where he is now. This story stuck with me for a long time after reading it, which is always a good indicator of a great book.

[Jane Dalton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought briefly about giving up on this because the casual mass cruelty and slaughter apparently without remorse was so abhorrent. But I didn't, partly because it's refreshing to find a modern literary novel that doesn't aspire to be a psychological thriller and that's well written, without cliche. It takes a slow, painful death for the main character to repent of the destruction of life he's caused through a lifetime of fishing and killing frogs. But it would have been better had he also regretted the suffering he caused to the creatures killed, not just the decimation of their numbers. Three-and-a-half stars.

[Camille Downing · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inspired adventure

I chose this novel because of its multicultural overtone and because of my enjoyment of the authors other work. I was not disappointed. I enjoyed his choice of words; lovely vocabulary! This is a fine piece of literature. I will share my enthusiasm for his stories with my book club and other friends who enjoy well written literature.

[Ellin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hard for me to enjoy a book when I dislike the main character so much.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong man's story of two generations with rivers and fishing running through

[Freder · Rating 1 out of 5]

THIS is what passes for Literary Fiction in the 21st century? It's not even as good as a trashy Doc Savage novel from the '30s, and less competent even than the work of James Dickey, who is NOT a writer I admire. The literary state of the union in 2019 is a disgrace. Where are the modern Faulkners, the modern Lillian Hellmans, the modern Dos Passos's? Is there anyone working today who is even halfway as good as Joyce Cary, Eudora Welty, Flannery O'Connor or Roberston Davies? Show me one young writer as good as any of those people. I don't think you can do it. Granted, we still have Margaret Atwood and Alasdair Gray, but they're not going to live forever. This book is so full of Stupid Writer Tricks that I wanted to throw it across the room. As I was reading it on my computer, that could have been an expensive proposition. As it is, all I can do is look forward to flushing it through my recycle bin.

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened via CD.
Rich and detailed descriptions of everything. The main character, owner of a family bank, was clearly wealthy and I tired of the adjectives attached to most nouns: BMW, teak, etc.
A dying man's review of his life and his attempt to make amends. Fragmented and didn't hold together for me. The story was just okay but the writing was nice.

My dilemma when the book is well-written but I don't like the story: 3.5 stars rounded up.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four and a half star. Other reviewers have used accurate adjectives-unique, compelling, well written. That being said, I would only recommend this book to some of my fellow readers.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard C. Morais's novel reads more like a memoir as it recounts the life and times of Jose Marie Alvarez, a prominent and wealthy Spanish banker in Switzerland. Alvarez recalls decisions and actions over the course of his life in which he regrettably crossed the line—or borders. His passion is fly-fishing for salmon, which serves as an analogy of his life including the scars along the way. Morais presents interesting and complex characters and paints vivid scenes of Spain and Switzerland.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well written and interesting story, but so.much.fishing. I do like that the author presents his protagonist as very human and flawed - it made him seem more endearing.

[Sally Parcels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perceptive and Deeply insightful.

It reads like an autobiography. This author has the courage to expose his psyche and share his protagonists innocence with his darkest guilty secrets. I was forced to read this book because each time sequence revealed another truth I have not been so impressed with a book in a number of years. Truly a gifted storyteller with an invite into the depths of human nature.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

40% of the way in, I gave up. There are few reading experiences more frustrating than a book whose author thinks s/he is revealing great wisdom, but who is actually a hack.

[Trish Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe 4.5. A great family drama with a father who does not lead an admirable life, loses the respect of his three sons, has a conflicting marriage and uses his wealth to make amends. The travels of fishing in Spain, Iceland, Switzerland were beautifully written. Interesting and well written.

[Trebor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of a man slowly dying. He is reflecting back on his life, some good and some bad memories. Some other behaviors and incidents that haunt his soul as his final destiny ticks away. His sins of omission and character defects, infidelity and selfishness are exposed as he seeks forgiveness and redemption. Family secrets and skeletons in the closet have been a driving force in the way he has lived his life and his demons are in the forefront of his existence. He has placed a boundary around himself from his three sons and loving wife, which he must open before he passes. A story of ones man's life, a journey we all must trod. The point were the only path is self honesty and truth. The story of breaking the chains forged in life. I can relate to the characters torment and can only hope it ends as well . A good story.