Spanish novelist Javier Maras dies at age 70

Javier Marías, Spain’s most prestigious novelist of the past half century, has died, his publisher said Sunday. He was 70.

Spanish news agency EFE reported that Marías passed away in a hospital after not recovering from a lung infection.

Marías was the author of 15 novels, translations and collections of his weekly newspaper columns. His best known novels include “Corazón tan blanco” (“Heart So White”), “Todas las almas” (“All Souls), and “Mañana en la batalla piensa en mí” (“Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me”). Many of his works have been translated into English and other languages.

He was considered for years to be the leading Spanish candidate to win the Nobel Prize for Literature since Camilo José Cela was awarded the honor in 1989.