Mikel Taberna is known for dedicating himself to poetry and storytelling. He now comes with his first novel, The Sale of Alkasoro, published in 2013 by Susa.

These are ten chapters in which small stories are told based on the daily life of the inhabitants of Alkasoro, between Bera and Lesaka, and which can be read independently given the writer's tendency to the story. This was recognized by Taberna at the EiTB afternoon session: “Puxkos of life” but “The bread of every day of Euskal Herria” at the same time. Therefore, although each section refers to memories of specific moments, all together form the puzzle of a given time.

The novel will be embodied in this duality from the beginning to the end. As he writes the story of Martin Irazoki as a character and narrator of the novel, he rewrites the events of the 1950s and 1970s. As if with the creation process I would like to undo the past. Modify, remake. But history is invariable and Martin will be condemned from the first chapter.

The novel starts with the death of a smuggler named Bordatxo and ends with the tragic event of young people shot to death by a civil guard at the 1976 Bordatxo nightclub. Rewriting serves to awaken a ray of hope, to think about whether things could happen otherwise, but above all to prevent it from happening again.
Has it served anything? Then they will tell us that history is cyclical, that we have to go ahead without turning our heads and, worse still, we hear comments against historical memory everywhere. How can we not be the only being who constantly stumbles with the same stone?

The Taberna novel has inspired me these ideas. Otherwise, apart from all that, I would say that it is literature for young people. The story of Mikel and his friends seems good to me for young people between the ages of 18 and 23 – he reminded me when in school we were sent to read the Friday of Jon Arretxe, that of Taberna at least is of higher quality – because I think it can be “the time” to spend an entertaining afternoon with what all these characters experience. However, this review of the 1950s and 1970s is recommended for all audiences, for some as I remember and as learning for all.