Ramon Saizarbitoria

Egunero hasten delako nobela 1969an argitaratu zenetik berrogeita hamar urte bete dira. Orduz geroztik, edizio ugari izan ditu. Edizio horien guztien azalak jatorrizkoa oinarri zuen aldaera bat izan dira. Irakurleak esku artean duenak urte haren oroigarri izan nahi du, kultur molde bat bultzatu zutenen oroigarri, disziplinartekotasunaren, sasoiko lankidetza eta ekintzailetzaren omen. Horregatik, jatorrizko azala berreskuratu dugu, Alberto Corazónek egin zuena.

Gazteak dira eleberri honetan protagonista positiboak. Bi ezaugarri biltzen dituzte bere alde: gazte izatea eta artean bizitzeko geratzen zaien bide luzea. Ilusioa eta esperantza. Baita alaitasuna ere. Eta hori guztia, beraientzat, baita Gisèle Sergier-rentzat ere, abortatu beharraren pasadizoak une miserable, maltzur eta hipokrita asko ikustera kondenatutako neskarentzat, beraientzat diot, egunero hasten dira bizitzak eta aukera berriak. Marmarrean isildu gabe ari den gizagaixoak -hitz egiten ari den bitartean gutxienez bizirik diharduelako ustean, seguru asko- aldarte umoretsu eta alaia erabili arren, bere jardunaz bestaldera gelditzen zaion mundua melankolia igurtzi batez kutsatzen du maiz: bizitzak egunero gauza jakinak dakarzkio. Bigarren protagonista berritsu horren marmarrean ironiak hartzen du gaina eleberrian: aldi berean da narratzailea behatzaile eta kontalari, aldi berean da zelatari eta murmuratzaile. Horra hor artista modernoaren eredua. Horra hor azken urteetan irakurleriari huts egin ez dion eleberri ederra.… (altro)

Late period Henry James thinks too little happens in this book. Late period Dickens thinks this book might be just a tad too long. Hemingway is a bit uncomfortable with the way women are depicted, even though half the book is told from a woman's perspective.

So, put it in the "I wanted to like this way more than I did" pile. This is enormous--800 pages, but they're some long pages. I would guess in word count it gets up towards the big Russians. Nothing happens, and when something does happen, it's either ludicrous melodrama or dull love story.

To give Saizarbitoria his due, it's technically impressive at times: using the present tense for that many pages, without it feeling ridiculous, is a unique feat; the weaving of history and present is very well done; there's just enough meta-commentary to keep it from sinking into a Eugenides'-Marriage-Plot, Franzen's-Freedom level of faux-naive tedium. But the best things about the book are its lineation of character (which shouldn't take this long) and its sense of Basque identity and that region's and people's history, which is perversely ignored in favor of a doctor who gets it on with a hot American girl. Someone could write a solid grad school paper about the book's intertextuality, both explicit (Frisch's equally dull Montauk) and implicit (as the doctor and girl suggest, there's a lot of James in here). Someone could write a good essay about Basque history, using the novel's characters. But I can't imagine anyone wanting to read a book this long, and this uninteresting.

With one exception: there are, of course, people who love a good disappointing love story, and this is for them. If you only read one book about disappointing love in 2017, make it this one, because it'll take you most of the year.… (altro)