The Accordionist's Son - Softcover

"The first great Basque novel" (Times Literary Supplement)

"A briliantly inventive writer... terribly moving and wildly funny" (A. S. Byatt)

"This most delicate and personal of novels packs a powerful political message" (Independent)

"Incredibly powerful... magnificently written" (Financial Times)

"A magical novel that exlores friendship and memory, language and loss" (Metro)

The Accordionist's Son is a remarkably powerful and accomplished novel, exploring the life of David Imaz, a former inhabitant of the Basque village of Obaba, now living in exile and ill-health on a ranch in California.

As a young man, David divides his time between his uncle's ranch and his life in the village, where he reluctantly practises the accordion on the insistence of his authoritarian father. Increasingly aware of the long shadow cast by the Spanish Civil War, he begins to unravel the story of the conflict, his father's association with the fascists and his uncle's opposition and brave decision to hide a wanted republican.

Caught betweeen the two men, the course of his own life is changed forever when he agrees to shelter a group of students on the run from the military police.

Translated by Margaret Jull Costa.