Automatically translated from Basque, translation may contain errors. More information here. Elhuyarren itzultzaile automatikoaren logoa

The journey is the destination

  • Seve Calleja::Zorionak, Sator jauna! Translation: Xabier Monasterio Images: Carmen Aguirrezabal   Ibaizabal, 2014

It is a simple and nice story, made by Seve Calleja, using the repetitive structure he has seen in many stories. this one. And as we are accustomed to the work of the Biscayan writer, we have received this version in Basque thanks to the translation of Xabier Monasterio.

Mr. Sator calls his nephew Satortxo on the phone for the young Satortxo to remember that it is his uncle's day. And as a result of this call, the nephew begins a trip to his uncle's house. The narration of this journey is the story of how Satortxo does not bring anything to his uncle (nothing occurs to him), but in the meantime he encourages all the friends he finds along his journey to his uncle’s party, which carries with him a wide variety of gifts.

That game is the basis of the book's argument, Satortxo meets the squirrel Ilegorri and the two friends launch on the road until they find Magu with the mouse. When all three of them get started with the mouse, they go to the bakery at Berritsu Satitsu in search of flour to make the dessert. And then they will be joined by the hedgehog, the beaver… and some friends, whom they invite, by the invitation of others: “Do you say you’re going to a party? Well, if you need me for something, I’m willing to help,” until I form a good crew: “‘One, two, three, four, …’ the bat is counting the guests in a low voice. "What a crowd! he thought to himself. The comrades have realized this and each one has started to show up.”

The narrator of this story is a third generalist who recounts the story in a chronological way. The structure of the book is also simple, structured in twenty short chapters of interviews that make reading easier. The colorful images of Carmen Aguirrezabal also help to follow the line of argument and to better understand the development of history.

The story, as the reader hopes, ends with a party at Mr Sator’s house: “Now everyone is there and everyone is eager to celebrate Don Sator’s birthday. And then, once all the food is eaten, the circumstances of the march will tell each other. And then they'll dance. And they'll talk about songs and laughter. They have all night to have a great time.”

Calleja is a simple and quick story, which has as its protagonist an extravagant group of animals. And as usual in some papers, the journey is more interesting than the goal. The feast of Mr. Sator is the goal, the story is the journey.


You are interested in the channel: Liburuak
2025-01-08 | ARGIA
The Hontza library of Donostia-San Sebastian will close if no relief is found
The site of the mythical bookstore of Okendo Street from Donostia-San Sebastián has been put for sale and will close the doors if there is no group that takes the relay. The bookmakers have explained to ARGIA that it has not been easy to make the decision, but some owners have... [+]

"Education has to be quiet and indifferent."
In the round table for the presentation of the book Superpowers, the Contertulios have claimed "to leave the exhausting speed of daily life and take time to dream of the school project". They have calmly devoted themselves to transformation, to impotence, to illusion, to the... [+]

Presentation of the book 'Abentura erraldoia' accompanied by a handrail of giants and heads, this Friday in Gros de Donostia
The comparison of giants and heads from the Donostiarra neighborhood of Gros will feature a kalejira and a dance enlivened by the presentation of books organized by ARGIA this Friday: A great adventure. The authors Gorka Bereziartua and Adur Larrea present the kalejira Salba... [+]

2024-10-21 | Garazi Zabaleta
Book "Haziak"
“With the book we want to encourage people to start producing seeds”
Miguel Arribas Kelo and Marc Badal, authors of the book Haziak, have been working in the seed world for many years. In addition to practical explanations on seed reproduction, historical, economic, political and cultural elements have been collected, so it can also be... [+]

Eztizen Artola Iturrate
"We've been so romantic about the case, we're not aware of the consequences that prison can have."
The day has come: Ihintza's father will be released from prison. This is the time for the opening of the novel Pneumak (Txalaparta, 2024), by Eztizen Artola (Bilbao, 1999). From there, the child will grow up with a backpack on his travels to jail to visit his father, in order to... [+]

2024-10-09 | Leire Ibar
Jon Gerediaga, Harkaitz Cano and David de las Heras will be the winners of the Euskadi Literature Awards
At a press conference held on 9 October in Bilbao, the first vice-president of the Basque Government and Councillor for Culture and Linguistic Policy, Ibone Bengoetxea, announced the winners of the Euskadi Prize for Literature.

2024-09-16 | Estitxu Eizagirre
The book 'Haziak' will be presented on 20 September at the Azpeitia Food Centre
The first presentation of the book will be on Friday, September 20, at 18:30 pm, at the Food Center of Azpeitia. The programme will involve the authors Miguel Arribas Kelo and Marc Badal, the translator Markel Lizasoain, the designer Maitane Gartziandia and the photographer Dani... [+]

Historical cartography of the Basque Country
The trail of maps in the history of a people
It is known that cartography represents much more than the characteristics of a town or territory. Hand maps have conquered continents and empires have been built throughout history, and cultural and political identities have been defined with squads and cartabons. Peoples... [+]

Chronic: Day 'Brave Books'
Silent, mute, white... and brave
On 23 February we went to Zaragoza (Aragon) a friend and I. She's a teacher of Early Childhood Education and I'm a literary energizer. Album! The course organized by the association (structure that brings together independent editorials that publish children's and youth literature)... [+]

Fights and books
Nothing else to realize, it has gone in April, with all its intensities and colors. It has left us hot, temperate and cold days. Rainbow and ice. Torrential rain and heat sheet. As the few newborn lambs walk through the prairie, the knife interrupts the breath of the three sheep... [+]

Libraries for resistance

Leaving behind books, libraries and their benefits in April, Kabiak Sahrawi wishes to recall the dark side of his history, which is of greater importance in defending the identity and survival of peoples. We are talking about the destruction of the age-old and usual libraries... [+]


Amador Fernández-Savater. Pirate philosophy
"In our society there is little desire and much obedience to neoliberal mandates"
In late March, Amador Fernández-Savater visited San Sebastian to present his new book: Libidinal Capitalism. A short visit may have a lot of crumb. We interviewed before returning to Madrid, retreating politics, psychoanalysis, desire and attention.

The first cartographic atlas of the Basque Country
By Ramón Oleaga and Jose Mari Esparza, the Imago Vasconiae collection contains 300 maps that can be accessed on the Internet. The authors have created an indispensable tool to illustrate the evolution of the history of the Basque Country and "have original material for... [+]

Eguneraketa berriak daude