"Is Aramburu the Tolstoy of the Basque country?"—The Guardian

From the author of the Dublin Literary Award longlisted Homeland, comes an emotionally gripping novel based on true events

On 23rd October 1980, a gas explosion killed fifty children in a small school in Ortuella, a small, industrial town twenty miles from Bilbao. Nearly every family was affected.

The Child follows the story of one family during the aftermath of the tragedy. In piercing, unadorned prose, Aramburu portrays ordinary people with extraordinary humanity: the grandfather who refuses to believe his grandson is gone, the parents determined to persevere, and a community that tries to both remember and forget.

A heartbreaking, unforgettable story, The Child explores the private shadows of a Basque family shaken by unspeakable tragedy in this intimate novel about trauma and its wake.



"Once again, Aramburu finds the right words for something that is so very difficult to name."



"Aramburu delves with depth, elegance and unsentimental emotion into the narration of the pain and the consequences of the tragic death of a group of children in a community… a prodigy of universal empathy."



"Is Aramburu the Tolstoy of the Basque Country? An uplifting tale, beautifully crafted and full of feeling."