gizon gogorarren sekretua
xabier eta martin etxeberria
The Etxeberria brothers are the Cohen brothers of our literature. Their work is always amusing and with an obvious layer of absurd, surreal humour. “Gizon gogorraren istorioa” isn’t Fargo, just as the industrial estates on the outskirts of Donostia aren’t North Dakota, but the brothers from Zarautz’s dark novel is in that same style. This reader, at least, was reminded of those aesthetic and narrative codes. A book you can take in over a single summer afternoon.
txantxaberde kantaria
joan mari irigoien
Writer Joan Mari Irigoien ‘s book is as unusual a creature as a blue joke. He’s from Altza and dedicates the book to his fellow Altzans, but anybody can read it. And what is “txantxaberdearen kantua”, the blue joke song? Poetry, journalism, aphorisms, thoughts, proclamations, insults, prayers, puns... in short, an ecology of life. A writer who’s long been consecrated, he hasn’t aimed for perfection in this humble, punk book for his neighbours. And that’s something to be glad about.
vírgenes catódicas, putas recalcitrantes
egile ugari
Katixa Agirre, Iratxe Fresneda, Josebe Iturrioz, Irati Jimenez and Itziar Ziga look at various tv series and programmes from a feminist point of view. As is to be expected, some writer’s texts will be more to your taste than others, but the work’s main characteristic is that it deals with a contemporary issue. Our writers seldom address subjects in the very moment they’re happening. To stop us always being one step behind, Txalaparta brings out these strange pop books from time to time, and it’s something to be grateful for.
atlas de las islas remotas
judith schalansky
This German writer and graphic designer has used 50 lonely, unknown islands in different oceans to put this amazing book together. Each of the islands we’ve never gone to has its own story. Loneliness, saltpetre, fear and animals are their ingredients. Some books give you the chance to flee. This is one of them. At any moment it’ll take you far from the world and make you feel isolated on an island. That’s something in itself.
