What We Tried to Bury Grows Here
What We Tried to Bury Grows Here
What We Tried to Bury Grows Here
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Description
Description
A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist A masterly crafted and haunting tale of survival, longing, and empathy, set during the Spanish Civil War, now in a new paperback edition. "Julian Zabalbeascoa is the real deal, a major talent, and the story he's telling here is both riveting and terrifying." --Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Empire Falls In late 1936, eighteen-year-old Isidro Elejalde leaves his Basque village in Northern Spain, spurred to join the fight to preserve his country's democracy from the insurrectionists by the rousing words of a political essayist. Months earlier, Spanish generals launched a military coup to overthrow Spain's newly elected left-wing government. They assumed the population would welcome the coup, but throughout the country people like Isidro remained loyal to the ideals of democracy, and the Spanish Civil War began in bloody earnest. In Bilbao, Mariana raises her two young children while, with her writing, she decries the fascist-backed coup attempt and their German and Italian allies, imploring the world to support democracy. As the Nationalist forces assault the country, Mariana and Isidro's lives intersect fleetingly, yet in meaningful and lasting ways. What We Tried to Bury Grows Here is a remarkable feat of research and imagination, as well as a transcendent literary accomplishment.
About the Author
About the Author
A dual citizen of Spain and the US, JULIAN ZABALBEASCOA was born and raised in California's Central Valley. He earned his MFA in Creative Writing in Madrid from the University of New Orleans and taught at various institutions throughout California before moving to Boston, where he now teaches in the Honors College at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, leading annual study abroad programs to Donostia-San Sebastian, Havana, Madrid, Paris, and Seville. Among other journals, his stories have appeared in American Short Fiction, Boulevard, The Common, Electric Literature, The Gettysburg Review, Glimmer Train, One Story, and Ploughshares. His interviews and reviews have been published in The Believer, Electric Literature, The Millions, and Salamander.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
"A fiery, visceral tale of the Spanish Civil War."
--The New York Times "Moving... individual characters flare vividly .. what persists throughout is the place and its people."
--Julian Girdham, The Irish Times "Julian Zabalbeascoa writes about the Spanish Civil War from a perspective both distant and close to the drama: distant enough to offer perspective; close enough to offer depth. What We Tried to Bury Grows Here is a work of precise and poetic writing."
--Bernardo Atxaga "Zabalbeascoa's characters cannot foresee the tragic end to the war, but readers do, and this chilling knowledge adds to the tension in this compelling and hauntingly prescient novel."
--Wendy J. Fox, Electric Literature
"Zabalbeascoa brings together family lore and mountains of research to paint a kaleidoscopic portrait of the Spanish Civil War, particularly its impact on the people of Spain's Basque region."
--Kate Tuttle, The Boston Globe "What We Tried to Bury Grows Here implores us to look back to history to not fall into passivity but instead take note of the perils of today. Zabalbeascoa structures his novel as a series of first-person vignettes, giving rise to a chorus of characters. It's an imaginative and impressive feat of literary ventriloquism to hear from Basque soldiers. This structure allows Zabalbeascoa to comment on the collective nature of war while showing how it is an intensely personal undertaking. Through these characters, we are allowed to see slices of their war and how it builds to something more encompassing."
--Brock Kingsley, Chicago Review of Books "A stunning first novel, ambitious, intensely true, certain to be read for a long time. Zabalbeascoa is a phenomenon."
--Philipp Meyer, author of The Son and American Rust "Julian Zabalbeascoa is ferociously brilliant at rendering both the epic sweep of history--Franco's rise to power, the Spanish Civil War--and the particular contours of daily life. The wineskins soldiers stash under their hospital mattresses. A bit of cake dipped in marmalade. The "metallic whistle" of a rifle shell. What We Tried to Bury Grows Here is a stunningly powerful novel about the individual acts of courage and violence that have shaped history as we know it. A virtuosic and unforgettable debut."
--Laura van den Berg, author of State of Paradise
--The New York Times "Moving... individual characters flare vividly .. what persists throughout is the place and its people."
--Julian Girdham, The Irish Times "Julian Zabalbeascoa writes about the Spanish Civil War from a perspective both distant and close to the drama: distant enough to offer perspective; close enough to offer depth. What We Tried to Bury Grows Here is a work of precise and poetic writing."
--Bernardo Atxaga "Zabalbeascoa's characters cannot foresee the tragic end to the war, but readers do, and this chilling knowledge adds to the tension in this compelling and hauntingly prescient novel."
--Wendy J. Fox, Electric Literature
"Zabalbeascoa brings together family lore and mountains of research to paint a kaleidoscopic portrait of the Spanish Civil War, particularly its impact on the people of Spain's Basque region."
--Kate Tuttle, The Boston Globe "What We Tried to Bury Grows Here implores us to look back to history to not fall into passivity but instead take note of the perils of today. Zabalbeascoa structures his novel as a series of first-person vignettes, giving rise to a chorus of characters. It's an imaginative and impressive feat of literary ventriloquism to hear from Basque soldiers. This structure allows Zabalbeascoa to comment on the collective nature of war while showing how it is an intensely personal undertaking. Through these characters, we are allowed to see slices of their war and how it builds to something more encompassing."
--Brock Kingsley, Chicago Review of Books "A stunning first novel, ambitious, intensely true, certain to be read for a long time. Zabalbeascoa is a phenomenon."
--Philipp Meyer, author of The Son and American Rust "Julian Zabalbeascoa is ferociously brilliant at rendering both the epic sweep of history--Franco's rise to power, the Spanish Civil War--and the particular contours of daily life. The wineskins soldiers stash under their hospital mattresses. A bit of cake dipped in marmalade. The "metallic whistle" of a rifle shell. What We Tried to Bury Grows Here is a stunningly powerful novel about the individual acts of courage and violence that have shaped history as we know it. A virtuosic and unforgettable debut."
--Laura van den Berg, author of State of Paradise
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
Publisher:
Two Dollar Radio
Pub date:
2026-02-10
Length:
320 pages
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