Bernado Atxaga (Asteasu, Gipuzkoa, 1951), the pen name of José Irazu, was praised by The Guardian as “not just a Basque novelist, but the Basque novelist”, as he is one of the most internationally acclaimed authors to write originally in the Basque language. His prolific body of work—including novels, short stories, poetry, essays, and also children’s books and novels—has earned him numerous national and international awards, recognizing both individual works and his overall literary career. Atxaga has traditionally been known for his unique spin on the universal topics that Hispanic literature has traditionally tapped into—memory, cultural identity, war, and human relationships—as …