Before the World Opened

by C. Fardoe

Ilari Sagastizabal inhabits a very small world.Raised in the mountains of Basque Country in a town with no name, Ilari is the local leader's son. He has spent his life preparing to take up arms in the name of The Organisation, a nationalist resistance group - and he has done so gladly, his faith in the cause unshakable. When a dangerous mission comes up and he is chosen to go along, Ilari feels like his dreams have come true. But the reality of fighting for freedom is a stark contrast to what he imagined.Freedom is not free.Conflicted and fearful, Ilari begins sneaking out of town with increasing frequency, spending time in the nearby city of Bilbao. But a chance meeting with the local police causes him to veer sharply off the narrow life path he is expected to follow. Arrested and deported, he finds himself living temporarily in a place unlike anywhere he has ever known, among the people who are supposed to be his enemies - and he begins to question who the real enemy might be.As he discovers the world outside his hometown, Ilari contemplates the very real possibility that he has grown up believing a lie and and struggles to come to terms with the prospect of going home now that he knows the truth.

245 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 25, 2023