La visita en el tiempo / Visit in Time
Novel , 1990
Drácena
Pages: 308
Visit in Time is a historical novel that narrates the life of Don Juan of Austria, the illegitimate son of Charles V and half-brother of Philip II, who stood out as a hero in the Battle of Lepanto, where he defeated the mighty Turkish power. The plot follows Jeromín, his birth name, who, from a quiet life in a village, is swept into palace intrigues after being sent to Yuste. His identity is altered when the king himself grants him the title of Don Juan of Austria. Throughout the novel, the figure of Don Juan unfolds between legend and reality: his success at Lepanto, his ambiguous relationship with his half-brother Philip II, his tragic early death, and his involvement in the conspiracy of Antonio Pérez.
The work presents a Don Juan broken by the search for his identity, a theme that Úslar Pietri addresses with subtlety, exploring the existential anguish that marked his life and that still makes his figure a fascinating enigma for historians. Visit in Time is not just a novelized biography but a profound reflection on the internal dilemmas of a man trapped between his legacy and his own struggle to find his place. This novel, awarded the Rómulo Gallegos Prize, stands out as one of the most insightful and relevant works in Hispanic historical literature.