Two Basque Stories

by Bernardo Atxaga, Nere Lete

In Two Basque Stories, Atxaga turns his attention to complex lives lived in the “rustic” Basque village of Obaba and the creative process of identity. The first short story, “Two Letters All at Once,” tells the story of Old Martin, a former sheepherder consigned to a generic Boise neighborhood. In order to make sense of his life, Martin narrates for an un-understanding grandson the life-altering deception that led him from his native village to the American West. In “When a Snake Stares at a Bird,” a young city-bred boy spending time in his grandfather’s village comes to realize that things he once believed to be nature, animals, and his grandfather, are much more complex than he could have imagined. Evocative illustrations by Antton Olariaga compliment these at once simple and deceptively complex stories.

Genres: Short Stories

117 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Bernardo Atxaga (Joseba Irazu Garmendia, Asteasu, Guipúzcoa, 1951) belongs to the young group of Basque writers that began publishing in his mother language, Euskara, in the Seventies. Graduated in Economics for the Bilbao University, he later studied Philosophy at the University of Barcelona.

His first short story, Ziutateaz was published in 1976 and his first book of poetry Etiopia in 1978. Both works received the National Critics Prize for the best works in the Basque language.

He cultivates most genres: poetry, radio, cinema scriptwriting, theatre, children's books, articles, short stories... His national –and soon after international– recognition arrived with Obabakoak (1988) which, among other prizes, was awarded the National Literature Prize 1989 and that has been translated into more than twenty languages.

Many of his poems have also been translated into other languages and published by prestigious magazines such as Jahbuch der Lyrik, 1993, Die horen, 1995, Lichtungen, 1997 (Germany), Lyrikklubbss bibliotek, 1993 (Sweden), Vuelta, 1990 (Mexico), Linea d'ombra, 1992 (Italy) and others.

Reviews

[Bart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can’t say these stories have given me a better understanding of the basques, but they were (surprisingly) well written and sympathetic.