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Book Reviewed by:Set in Spain, this is a haunting and beautiful story of one man's brush with terrorism and his quest to find answers.
Ben Williamson has lost a daughter. While studying abroad in Madrid,
Michelle Williamson was caught in a bombing by Basque separatists, a bombing
that killed her and several members of the Guardia Civil at a post in a
park. For Ben, this act of violence has left only questions, and at a moment
of despair he decides to seek out the reasons for Michelle's death. As Ben
begins to learn about the endless tensions beneath the surface of Spanish
culture, he finds that he wants someone to answer for his loss.
Ben's other daughter, Annie, is also wrestling with the loss of her
sister. When she follows her father to Spain, she finds a changed man.
Haunting and beautiful, House of the Deaf is the story of one man's brush
with terrorism and his quest to find answers.
Herrin doesn't deliver easy answers, and the ending is somewhat ambiguous but nonetheless appropriate and satisfying...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
Euskadi Ta Azkatasuna (ETA) stands for Basque Homeland and Freedom. The group seeks independence for seven regions in northern Spain and South-West France that they claim as their own. The ETA first appeared in the 1960s as a student resistance movement opposed to General Franco's military dictatorship (Franco banned the Basque language, suppressed their culture and had Basque intellectuals tortured for their beliefs).
Since Franco's death in 1975 Spain's Basque country now has more autonomy than
any other region in Spain, including its own parliament, police force, education
policies and ability to collect taxes, but hardline ETA members and supporters
remain determined to fight for full independence.
In recent years ...
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Our wisdom comes from our experience, and our experience comes from our foolishness
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Lorrie Moore
Lamar Herrin has always written beautifully. Now, in a manner reminiscent of J. M. Coetzee, he looks at the effect of contemporary political violence on one particular family. House of the Deaf is a powerful, poetic, and suspenseful book.
