What We Tried to Bury Grows Here

"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

“'In war, the full breadth of emotions persist, hiding among the horror — even joy.' For Mariana, whose fiery political writing is an inspiration to her fellow Basques, that joy comes from a brief encounter with a young soldier named Isidro, who has left his remote village to fight on the government side in the Spanish Civil War. In a conventional novel, they’d be the tragic lovers battling fascist oppression. But in Zabalbeascoa’s daring first novel their stories serve a different purpose, attracting a host of other stories on both sides — as well as the sidelines — of the conflict." —Alida Becker, The New York Times

“What We Tried to Bury Grows Here is a startling book, beautiful and horrific, that navigates the complexities of Basque Country during the Spanish Civil War, in which fascism and communism, regionalism and nationalism, and faith and skepticism do battle across a brilliantly evoked, suffering landscape." —Phil Klay, National Book Award winning author of Redeployment and Missionaries

“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