I know, I know, it's #WITMonth and we're supposed to be reading women in translation, but when I stumbled on Bernardo Atxaga's Water over Stones at the library, I couldn't resist. Seven Houses in France (2009, see my review) was my first introduction to Basque writing and it was impressive. Water Over Stones didn't disappoint.

The novel comprises linked short stories of varying length, beginning in 1972, shifting back and forth in time almost to the present day. The first story introduces Elias, a troubled boy sent to live in his uncle's village after an incident at school. He has become an elective mute after a shock. His mother hopes that the different pace of life in the village will help him to recover.

In some ways Water over Stones reminded me of Scenes from Village Life (2011) by Israeli author Amos Oz and translated by Nicholas de Lange. (See my review). The books share the same unhurried pace of life, the homage to the traditional way of doing things (especially in the bakery), and the interconnectedness of the community. But there is also the same sense of a place in transition as village life declines, and a similar sense of unease because of geopolitical issues. In Water over Stones there is mention of the separatist group ETA, there is industrial unrest, a mine is bombed and people get killed. So while these events are not the focus of the story, this is not a story of idyllic village life because external events intrude.

In the second story the lives of young men Eliseo, Donato, Celso and Calaco are on hold as they do their time as reluctant conscripts in the army. In the 1970s the dictator Francisco Franco (1892-1975) was still in power and under his conservative rule hunting rights are denied to the ordinary people of the village. Only General Franco and Prince Juan Carlos can hunt in the large forest called El Pardo, and there is resentment about this. The young men like to go hunting too...

One common thread in all these stories is friendship. Elias becomes friends with other boys in the village; his twin cousins Luís and Martín accept his silences and they bond over the making of toy boats. The young conscripts banter but their loyalty is to each other.

Another thread is the love of animals: one of the young men befriends a magpie, and uses its call to enchant the woman he desires.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2023/08/10/water-over-stones-2019-by-bernardo-atxaga-tr... ( )

Vignettes [or short stories] covering many decades of Spanish [more properly, Basque] life with running characters in each of the episodes. Years written about were the Franco years to the present.
Kept my interest all through. I want to read more by the author. ( )