If this novel has a peculiarity, it reveals an imaginary that does not usually appear in the Basque novel on the War of 36 (and in the collective memories of the Basques). In fact, in our literary imagery mainly the memories of gudaris and persecutors have been fictionalized and, in that sense, the story of this novel blurs several myths: that the Basques also worked on the side of the franchises (not only as the requeté), and that the tensions between the different groups were also in an apparently homogeneous and forceful quarry (requeté vs.

The story consists of more than one narrator, a collection of voices that explains the aggression and its consequences along the Basilica of Begoña through different edges and layers of time. This fact becomes a symbol of the conflicts within the Francoists, but in all the characters is the mark of the struggles from the War to the 1980s.

The beginning of the novel is strong, not only because a sexual scene is depicted between two lovers, but because it keeps the main key to the story, opening doors to intrigue. As for the structure, one of the most noteworthy aspects of the novel is the administration of information in small doses. In return, there are some facts that call into question the credibility of history, such as the fact that Kelen has not provided all the information available to investigator Barandi from the very beginning or the unjustified death of a character.

The story is composed of two narrative lines, among which detective Alberto Barandiaran will disconnect with the second-category character who will have the key to continue advancing along this path. In addition, each narrative plan is a literary genre: Franco's has characteristics typical of the historical novel, and the history of the 1980s shows signs of the classical black novel. The latter, however, is full of topics, which breaks the freshness of the other. Unfortunately, Kelen, who wants to know who his parents are, does not trace his personal identity; he is lost in the paths of love.

There is no herony or drama in the story of the Falangists who become victims of the Francoists, so it moves away from an official narrative full of epic. However, this does not remove the harshness of the cruel passages, and the reports of the deaths of the Francoist side can be understood as an attempt to approach their suffering. The Tzvetan Todorov himself has said that, on the road to the pacification of a society of the traumatic past, it is essential to create narratives that separate us more than separate us.