THE ACCORDIONIST'S SON

Saint Paul, MN: Graywolf Press, 2009. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. Saint Paul, MN: Graywolf Press, 2009. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 370 pages. The author's fourth novel to be translated into English. One of Bernardo Atxaga's finest achievements. Review Copy. Review Material laid-in. The first appearance of the title in English and in the United States. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Bernardo Atxaga's "Soinujolearen semea" in a felicitous English translation. Translated by Margaret Jull Costa, the finest translator of Spanish and Portuguese literature of our time, from the Spanish Language Version that the author himself wrote after his novel's Basque original. Obaba revisited through a glass darkly. "Returns to Obaba, the fictional village at the heart of his acclaimed novel, 'Obabakoak', to tell a gorgeous and ambitious story about the Basque land and language. Much of the book is set in the 1960's, when David Imaz, the teenage son of an accordionist, begins to suspect his father participated in the execution of villagers accused of being Republicans during the Spanish Civil War. Twenty-five years after the war officially ended, political choices remain deadly. Fear of Franco's Guardia Civil neither darkens the innocence or exuberance of the young nor lightens the guilt of their parents. In Obaba, grudges and friendships are long-lasting and deep, and secrets are buried only shallowly" (Publishers Weekly) . An absolute "must-have" title for Bernardo Atxaga collectors. This is a Review Copy. The Review Material is laid-in. It is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully double-signed (in both Basque and Roman alphabets) , placed, and dated (in the year of publication) in black ink-pen on the title page by the author: "Bernardo Atxaga 2009 New York". It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a contemporary classic. As far as we know, this is the only such double-signed, placed, and publication-year dated copy of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing (American) available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws or are the Softcover Edition. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. The greatest Basque writer of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER BERNARDO ATXAGA TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 1555975178.