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Abstract
The objective of this study is to discuss the portrayal of terrorism in contemporary Basque narrative. The dissertation examines three contemporary novels written by Basque authors, Soinujolearen semea (2003)/El hijo del acordeonista (2006) by Bernardo Atxaga, El angulo ciego (2008) by Luisa Etxenike, and Patria (2016) by Fernando Aramburu. The novels will be analyzed following three main lines of enquiry: the portrayal of Basque terrorism, literature as an ethical commitment, and the aesthetic constitution of the novels. The dissertation will argue that the three authors selected here have constructed narratives that reconcile aesthetics and ethical commitment when addressing the violent reality of life in the Basque Country and the terrorism of the group ETA. I have identified three themes in the novels: exile and memory in Atxaga’s novel, the experience of the victims of terrorism in Etxenike’s, and the saga that explores the complex coexistence between victims and perpetrators in Aramburu’s Patria. I will argue that after the terrorist attacks of September 11, global terrorism arose transforming national and localized terrorism as communities sought to understand the phenomenon while rescuing the testimony of victims, underlying their plight and trauma. The interdisciplinary approach to this study aims to provide a background not only to the socio historical complexities surrounding the state of contemporary Basque narrative, but also the dynamic in the fields of production.
