This novel has a special idea that has not been taken over by any of the Basque novels about the War of 36: the Basque Government creates the Basque team, and football, besides being a strategy to look at the other countries, becomes a solidarity action to raise funds for exiled children. Consequently, the perspective of war changes, as it leaves the trenches and receives information about what is happening at home from abroad where the Basque selection is located.
The protagonist of this novel is Kepa Areso, who follows his trajectory. He is a human character, and although his conception is situated within the hegemonic Basque nationalism, he is able to understand the suffering of others. Even when you get the call to join the team, you entertain the concerns: playing football seems like a privilege after playing in trenches. He also has doubts about love and friendship, and all of that makes him a convincing character. The potential of the secondary characters around it is also very high, especially for women, but they don't develop as much as we would like. The character's mother's fingerprint is lost, she goes to Paris to visit her son and disappears as she has come, leaving no trace. The Theodora is an incarnate mystery and the tone and language of his letters arouse interest. It's a funnel between desires and imperfections that ends up as a ghost. It's Izaskun's dark gaze that keeps Kepa from sleeping, and it's Kepa who gets the most attention from the few women in history. In those eyes the reader will find the greatest paradox of war.
Regarding the form, the work presents the clues of the detective novel: the first suspicion is due to a piece of paper that the protagonist finds during the trip. It can also be said that it has the form of a chronicle, since the chapters are organized as quotidian of each day, intercalating chapters in the form of a letter. Thus, in this structure, the choice of the omniscient narrator is curious, and the daily life of the first person would have more credibility and more union with the cards. In any case, there is a pleasant and attractive reading for the transmission of the memory of the War of 36.
Under the asphalt, the flower
Text: Monica Rodriguez
Illustrations: Rocío Araya translation
of: Itziar Ulcerati
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