Homeland
Published on 16. May 2019
Book
Hardback
608 pages
978-1-5098-5802-6 (ISBN)
Description
'If a better Spanish novel than Homeland has appeared in the past 10 years, I'd like to hear about it . . . An uplifting tale, beautifully crafted and full of feeling.' Guardian
Miren and Bittori have been best friends all their lives, growing up in the same small town in the north of Spain. With limited interest in politics, the terrorist threat posed by ETA seems to affect them little. When Bittori's husband starts receiving threatening letters from the violent group, however - demanding money, accusing him of being a police informant - she turns to her friend for help. But Miren's loyalties are torn: her son Joxe Mari has just been recruited to the group as a terrorist and to denounce them as evil would be to condemn her own flesh and blood. Tensions rise, relationships fracture, and events race towards a violent, tragic conclusion . . .
Fernando Aramburu's Homeland is a gripping story and devastating exploration of the meaning of family, friendship, what it's like to live in the shadow of terrorism, and how countries and their people can possibly come to terms with their violent pasts.
'It's been a long time since I've read a book that was so persuasive and moving, so intelligently conceived.' Mario Vargas Llosa
Miren and Bittori have been best friends all their lives, growing up in the same small town in the north of Spain. With limited interest in politics, the terrorist threat posed by ETA seems to affect them little. When Bittori's husband starts receiving threatening letters from the violent group, however - demanding money, accusing him of being a police informant - she turns to her friend for help. But Miren's loyalties are torn: her son Joxe Mari has just been recruited to the group as a terrorist and to denounce them as evil would be to condemn her own flesh and blood. Tensions rise, relationships fracture, and events race towards a violent, tragic conclusion . . .
Fernando Aramburu's Homeland is a gripping story and devastating exploration of the meaning of family, friendship, what it's like to live in the shadow of terrorism, and how countries and their people can possibly come to terms with their violent pasts.
'It's been a long time since I've read a book that was so persuasive and moving, so intelligently conceived.' Mario Vargas Llosa
Reviews / Votes
A powerful saga . . . Aramburu is a captivating writer . . . Few books make me cry these days but by the final page I found my eyes prickling with tears. * Sunday Times * It's been a long time since I've read a book that was so persuasive and moving, so intelligently conceived. -- Mario Vargas Llosa A brilliant and important book. Our planet is covered with lines of various kind, and Aramburu masterfully examines the bodies and souls those lines cut through like razors. -- Nadeem Aslam A powerful novel . . . Aramburu skilfully spins their stories in short, punchy chapters that dart back and forth in time. * The Economist * A magnificent novel which is becoming a publishing, political and literary phenomenon. A story imbued with a spine-tingling sense of realism. * La Vanguardia * Homeland is, above all, a great and considered novel . . . combing evocation and analysis . . . War and Peace by Tolstoy did it. The work of Fernando Aramburu achieves the same thing. * El Pais * A work of tremendous power . . . we're once again reminded how overwhelming and powerful literature can be. * Die Zeit * Shedding the occasional tear doesn't matter. It is in any case difficult to read Homeland and remain dry-eyed. * Corriere della Sera * Aramburu recounts the lives of ordinary people shattered by events that are ongoing in Spain today even years after ETA has suspended its armed campaign . . . A humane, memorable work of literature. * Kirkus (starred review) * A 'Best books' by Isabel Allende for The List * The Week *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pan Macmillan
Target group
Interest Age: From 18 years
Dimensions
Height: 242 mm
Width: 162 mm
Thickness: 58 mm
Weight
915 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5098-5802-6 (9781509858026)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Fernando Aramburu is one of the most outstanding of current writers in Spanish. His nine novels and four books of short stories have been widely praised. But it is his novel Patria (Homeland), acclaimed by critics and a stunning success among readers in Spain and across Europe, that has gained him the widest international readership. Homeland has been awarded numerous prizes, including the National Prize for Literature and the National Critics Prize in Spain and the Strega Europeo Prize and the Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa International Literary Prize in Italy.
He currently lives in Germany, where he worked as a Spanish teacher since 1985. Homeland is his first book to be translated into English.
He currently lives in Germany, where he worked as a Spanish teacher since 1985. Homeland is his first book to be translated into English.