Patria

by Toni Fejzula
based on a novel by Fernando Aramburu

I haven’t read the best-selling novel by Fernando Aramburu, and so far did not have any intention to do it. Nor did I watch its TV adaptation. But when I saw this book in the library, I fell in love with the drawings and thought, I’ll give it a chance.

For a comic book, it’s not an easy reading. In addition to very non-linear narrative, it’s quite a challenge to distinguish between the pastel-coloured speech bubbles used to convey internal monologues of, wait a minute, eight protagonists, so make sure you reading space is well-lit! The fact that Arantxa and Aránzazu (which are variants of the same name) are two different characters added to my initial confusion.

Yet it is gratifying. And there is much more to the world of Patria than Basque Country, rain, violence and death. London, Rome, Göttingen, Prague, love, sex and rock’n’roll, or whatever they danced in discos in ’80s—’90s. The epilogue by the author, Belgrade-born, Barcelona-based Toni Fejzula is well worth reading.