"The Accordionist's Son", a success

2008-02-21  ¦  Publications

The Accordionist's Son is his most accomplished novel (the wonderful Obabakoak is more a collection of linked stories). It is also his most ambitious, as it embraces the history of the Basque Country from 1936 to 1999. The novel works on at least three levels: as an adventure; as a public story about the history and politics of the Basque Country; and a personal dissection of shifting mood and feeling, with Atxaga's customary precision. (...) Two of Atxaga's strengths are at once apparent: his fine storytelling, as he draws the reader expertly into David and Joseba's childhoods in Obaba, and the directness with which he talks about emotions. Subtleties of feeling about death and childhood are expressed in simple, elegant language.
The Independent

Metro "Fiction of the Week" rev Siobhan Murphy: "a magical novel that explores friendship and memory, language and loss".
Metro

The Financial Times, reviewed by Melissa Katsoulis: "it is clear that this incredibly powerful story is more than a mere coming-of-age tale... magnificently written story".
The Financial Times

London Lite, rev Ben Felsenburg: "a mesmerising novel that weaves together raw politics and the achingly personal... Best of all is the interlude in which we learn how the obese Don Pedro managed to escape the fascist firing squad, a brilliant concoction of history and myth worthy of Jorge Luis Borges".
London Lite