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"Memoirs of a Basque Cow" has been published in the United Kingdom

2020-03-20  ¦  Publications

One of Bernardo Atxaga's best-known works, Memoirs of a Basque Cow, has just been published in English by Dedalus (Dedalus, 2020).

Originally published in Basque in 1991 (Behi euskaldun baten memoriak, Pamiela), Memoirs of a Basque Cow tells the story of Mo the cow; born on the Balantzategi farmstead, she follows the call of her inner voice and recounts the story of her life.

Translated into 15 languages (including French, German, Portuguese, Romanian, Ukrainian and Arabic), the English-language version, translated by Margaret Jull Costa, has just been published by Dedalus.

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One dark and stormy night, Mo hears her Inner Voice urging her to begin writing her memoirs. Having ignored her Inner Voice s advice once before, with near-fatal consequences, she decides, this time, to do as she is told. Mo looks back on her life, beginning with the crucial moment when she met another cow, who introduced herself as La Vache qui Rit, and assured Mo that there was nothing more stupid in this world than a stupid cow. Mo spends her life trying to prove to her friend that, despite being a cow, she is not at all stupid.

Besides, she has her Inner Voice and a great desire to live! Set in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, in which defeated Republican supporters are still being persecuted by victorious Nationalists, Memoirs of a Basque Cow paints a funny, touching portrait of friendship and freedom and the sometimes difficult process of finding oneself.