The inability to dodge the past
José and Inas, with their imagination, believe that the fallen hair in the water become snakes when they are children. However, this belief filled with fantasy clashes with a harsh reality and yet history insensibly catches the reader, like that reptile. The novel is structured in two narrative plans, combining the reports of the 1936 War with the reports of the post-war conflict.
In Navarre, most of the history is materialised, in an area where silence – also literary – about the war events has been more pronounced than in other Basque territories. In it, the omniscient narrator places various problems and demands of the youth of the 80-90's, as well as various actions of ETA. The narrator judges with severe gaze the facts of the war, as well as the murders of the posterior armed band – leaving aside other issues of the time or explaining them lightly.
In the novel, the complexity of situations is the main characteristic of the novel. The protagonist Inas himself experiences the contradiction, as his education has been possible thanks to the money of the Francoist grandfather, and the presence of Abuelo behind that opportunity that the children of the villages in the area have not had creates discomfort. In addition, there is another ethical concern that extends throughout the novel: the difficulty of choosing between making known the truths of the past and living together. In this way, the decisions taken to clarify the murder of his father during the war set the pattern of Inas, who decides to go to live in Pamplona to rebuild his father's past. Despite the credibility of this choice, he manages to exercise his profession and form his family: the ability to transmit knowledge to his students and the relationships with his children contribute to complete his image. However, the narrator goes through these fragile aspects at the tips of the feet, leaving without sewing some interesting threads, such as the image of her mother Margarita and the wounds.
The narrative rhythm of the facts is generally balanced, but explanations for some events are too short, such as some sudden deaths. Its reverse, however, is a reality built with great precision: the way of life of the families of the dwelling, the living conditions of the prisons, etc. are described in a plastic way, to the extent that the details of certain cruelties can suffocate the reader.
Translations
Miren Agur Meabe
Elkar, 2023
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Text:
Ilan Brenman
Illustrations: Guilherme Karsten
translation: In Alkain
Denonartean, 2024
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Pozo
Goiatz Labandibar
Erein, 2024
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Sorry as if there were no
Mariana Travacio
Erein, 2024
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Josefa, neskame
Alaitz Melgar Agirre
Elkar, 2022
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In the maze of
the theatre I Ander
Lipus EHAZE and Susa
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