Homeland A Novel

Fernando Aramburu's internationally acclaimed novel evokes an unresolved history of violence, giving a fictional account of lives shattered by Basque terrorism even as it rekindles debate about truth and reconciliation.

Lifetime friends become bitter enemies when the father of one family is killed by militants—one of whom is a son from the other family. Told in short sections highlighting a rich multiplicity of characters from all walks of life, Homeland brilliantly unfolds in nonlinear fashion as it traces the moral dilemmas faced by the families of murder victim and perpetrator alike. Aramburu alludes only obliquely to the historical context while he focuses on the psychological complexity of his characters and builds nearly unbearable suspense.

Born in San Sebastián, Spain, in 1959, FERNANDO ARAMBURU is considered one of the most remarkable writers in the Spanish language. He won the Ramón Gómez de la Serna Prize in 1997, the Euskadi Prize in 2001, and, for his short story collection Los peces de la amargura, the Mario Vargas Llosa NH Short Story Award, the Dulce Chacón Prize, and the Prize of the Spanish Roal Academy in 2008. Among his most recent novels, Años lentos won the Premio Tusquets de Novela in 2011 and was named Book of the Year in 2012 by the booksellers of Madrid. But it is his novel Patria (Homeland), a stunning success among readers and winner of unanimous acclaim (National Prize for Literature, National Critics Prize, Euskadi Prize, Francisco Umbral Prize, Strega European Prize, Tomasi di Lampedusa Prize, among many others) that has distinguished him as a writer who will leave his mark on our era.

1 High Heels on Parquet 3 
2 Mild October 6 
3 With Txato in Polloe 10 
4 Where They Live 14 
5 Moving by Night 18 
6 Txato, Entzun 21 
7 Rocks in the Knapsack 25 
8 A Distant Episode 29 
9 Red 33 
10 Telephone Calls 37 
11 Flood 40 
12 The Garden Wall 44 
13 The Ramp, the Bathroom, the Caregiver 49 
14 Last Snacks 53 
15 Meetings 57 
16 Sunday Mass 61 
17 A Little Walk 65 
18 An Island Vacation 70 
19 Discrepancy 74 
20 Premature Mourning 79 
21 The Best of All of Them 83 
22 Memories in a Spiderweb 88 
23 Invisible Rope 92 
24 A Toy Bracelet 96 
25 Don’t Come 102 
26 With Them or with Us 107 
27 Family Dinner 111 
28 Between Brother and Sister 116 
29 A Two-Colored Leaf 120 
30 To Empty Memory 124 
31 Dialogue in Darkness 129 
32 Papers and Objects 133 
33 Graffiti 137 
34 Mental Pages 141 
35 A Box of Flames 145 
36 From A to B 149 
37 The Cake of Discord 153 
38 Books 158
39 I the Hatchet, You the Serpent 162 
40 Two Years Without a Face 168 
41 Her Life in the Mirror 172 
42 The London Incident 176 
43 A Formal Couple 182 
44 Precautions 187 
45 Strike Day 191 
46 A Rainy Day 198 
47 What Became of Them? 202 
48 Late Shift 207 
49 Face the Music 211 
50 A Cop’s Leg 215 
51 In the Quarry 219 
52 A Great Dream 225 
53 The Enemy in the House 229 
54 The Lie About Fever 233 
55 Like Their Mothers 237 
56 Plums 242 
57 In the Reserves 245 
58 A Walk in the Park 251 
59 A Thread of Glass 255 
60 Doctors with Doctors 261 
61 A Pleasing Smallness 266 
62 House Search 270 
63 Political Material 274 
64 Where Is My Son? 278 
65 Blessing 282 
66 Klaus-Dieter 287 
67 Three Weeks of Love 291 
68 Graduation 296 
69 The Break 302 
70 Homelands and Follies 307 
71 Twisted Daughter 311 
72 A Sacred Mission 315 
73 If You’re Here, You’re In 321 
74 Personal Liberation Movement 326 
75 A Porcelain Vase 330 
76 Go On, Cry in Peace 337 
77 Evil Plans 342 
78 The Short Course 346 
79 The Touch of the Jellyfish 351 
80 The Oria Cell 356 
81 Only the Sad Doctor Went to See Her Off 360 
82 He’s My Boyfriend 364 
83 A Bit of Bad Luck 368 
84 Basque Murderers 373 
85 The Apartment 379 
86 He Had Other Plans 384 
87 Mushrooms and Nettles 388 
88 Bloody Bread 393 
89 The Air in the Dining Room 398 
90 Fright 404 
91 The List 410
92 The Child She Loved Most 415 
93 The Land of the Silent 421 
94 Amaia 426 
95 Jug Wine 430 
96 Nerea and Solitude 435 
97 The Parade of Murderers 441 
98 White-Dress Wedding 446 
99 The Fourth Member 450 
100 The Fall 456 
101 “Txoria txori” 460 
102 The First Letter 467 
103 The Second Letter 472 
104 The Third Letter and the Fourth 476 
105 Reconciliation 480 
106 Captivity Syndrome 486 
107 Meetings in the Plaza 490 
108 Medical Report 495 
109 If the Wind Hits the Burning Coal 500 
110 Conversation in the Afternoon 505 
111 A Night in Calamocha 510 
112 With the Grandson 517 
113 Uphill Finish 521 
114 A Pane of Glass Between 526 
115 Massage Session 531 
116 Arab Salon 536 
117 The Invisible Son 542 
118 Unannounced Visit 548 
119 Patience 552 
120 The Girl from Ondárroa 557 
121 Conversation in the Meeting Room 563 
122 Your Jail Is My Jail 568 
123 Closed Circle 572 
124 Soaking 576 
125 Sunday Morning 580 

Glossary 587