- Paperback: 120 pages
- Publisher: The Harvill Press (18 Mar 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 186046422X
- ISBN-13: 978-1860464225
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 13.2 x 1.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,132,313 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Irene is 37 years old and just out of prison after serving time for terrorist activities. Deciding to return home to Bilbao, she takes a bus journey across Spain, striking up conversations with the passengers who include two plainclothes policemen. As the journey progresses, so the tension builds.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Esos cielos: A novel about the Basque country
It's been only in the last years that the blurred Basque literature began to feel real for most Spaniards in the person of Bernardo Atxaga. He is one of those authors brave enough to translate his own works and to deal with the complex issue of terrorism in literature. We had found it so in The Lone Man, and it happens again in Esos Cielos, though here Basque terrorist activity is more of a secondary element. A character in The Angel of Goodbye, a novel by Carmen Martín Gaite which has been recently translated into English, used to say that all good novels start with an arrival. Some, as Bernardo Atxaga's, constitute really a coming back, and finish precisely with the arrival. Here it is the coming back to Bilbao of a woman in her thirties, who has just been released from jail. It is suggested that she is a former member of the ETA. This novel is the story of a stay in the border between the inner and the outer, between the recent past and the immediate future, as it covers the span of time between leaving the prison and arriving in Bilbao after several hours on a coach from Barcelona. It is not only a physical journey, it is also an exploration of the self, the attempt to go on with life with the help of books, objects and memories: the cigarettes she used to smoke, the rain in the city where she was born, her childhood landscapes. Even though the plot takes place inside several stations and a coach, it is never static. From the very beginning, the protagonist feels she is being chased by policeman- like men who are watching her with dark purposes which are only revealed at the end. Her first hours of freedom are therefore polluted. The topic of terrorism enables some powerful realistic effects similar to those found in a crime story, but which here are perfectly integrated in the history of this country. This is not something usual in Spanish novels, where crime story characters and situations, when introduced, always seem too foreign, too artificial. This issue is also quite new in Spanish literature. However, Bernardo Atxaga makes sure his characters give no speeches whatsoever. They have always left the terrorist group long before the beginning of the story. In a way, Atxaga's novels allow the reader to view the issue from the inside. Such a subject shouldn't be taboo, as long as literature is not changed into propaganda. In fact, it is difficult to infer from his books what Atxaga's opinion could be. This proves he possesses the cold aloof attitude that helps us to recognise in him a good story-teller.
(Laura Puente Martín)
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I had previously read "The Lone Man" and was keen to explore more of Atxaga's writing. "The Lone Woman" is a slower, more contemplative work - it is not a thriller and it does not have quite the same level of excitement. However, it is still a fascinating read. Does it tell us anything about terrorists? I don't think so. We don't really ever understand how the protagonist got into the movement. It is an insight into the effects of imprisonment, though, and how this is borne and how it feels to finally be released.
It is only 120 pages, but the writer has made every word count. You can't skim read it.
In short, an interesting novel but don't expect a repeat of the Lone Man.
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
