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MEMOIRS OF A BASQUE COW

Name: MEMOIRS OF A BASQUE COW
Author: Bernardo Atxaga
ISBN: 978-1-912868-01-8

by Bernardo Atxaga ; translated by Margaret Jull Costa ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 2, 2020

Dated language and slow pacing make a muddle of this tedious title.

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A philosophical cow recounts her life and ponders its meaning.

Mo looks back on her long life: her unceremonious birth, dismay at the realization that she’s a cow, humans she befriended or fought, a tumultuous friendship with a fellow cow called La Vache qui Rit, and her dotage with a plucky French nun. Mo’s narration is monopolized by philosophical conversations with The Pest, Mo’s inner voice, an all-knowing, formally prissy conscience. Serenity, danger, and cruelty are all present in Mo’s account. The story is translated from Basque, and the author’s preface provides brief historical context about the Spanish Civil War and the anti-fascist Basque rebels who fought against Franco’s dictatorship after the war. Unfortunately, the text fails to explore these sociopolitical issues. It is also a shame that the translator and publisher did not opt to remove problematically dated terms. Mo shares a saying from “a wise oriental,” and the story’s villain is referred to as “a foreigner”; as Mo cannot understand the latter’s (unidentified) language, it is, regrettably, represented throughout with just one nonsensical word: “Karral.” Human characters seem to be default white. The meandering narrative bounces between past and present, with many digressions in between, punctuated by pithy cow sayings. There’s a monotonous lack of urgency between bits of action and the occasional fight scene.

Dated language and slow pacing make a muddle of this tedious title. (Fantasy. 10-14)

Pub Date: June 2, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-912868-01-8

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Dedalus Limited

Review Posted Online: April 7, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION

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HOW TO SPEAK DOLPHIN

by Ginny Rorby ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 26, 2015

Dolphin lovers will appreciate this look at our complicated relationship with these marine mammals.

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Is dolphin-assisted therapy so beneficial to patients that it’s worth keeping a wild dolphin captive?

Twelve-year-old Lily has lived with her emotionally distant oncologist stepfather and a succession of nannies since her mother died in a car accident two years ago. Nannies leave because of the difficulty of caring for Adam, Lily’s severely autistic 4-year-old half brother. The newest, Suzanne, seems promising, but Lily is tired of feeling like a planet orbiting the sun Adam. When she meets blind Zoe, who will attend the same private middle school as Lily in the fall, Lily’s happy to have a friend. However, Zoe’s take on the plight of the captive dolphin, Nori, used in Adam’s therapy opens Lily’s eyes. She knows she must use her influence over her stepfather, who is consulting on Nori’s treatment for cancer (caused by an oil spill), to free the animal. Lily’s got several fine lines to walk, as she works to hold onto her new friend, convince her stepfather of the rightness of releasing Nori, and do what’s best for Adam. In her newest exploration of animal-human relationships, Rorby’s lonely, mature heroine faces tough but realistic situations. Siblings of children on the spectrum will identify with Lily. If the tale flirts with sentimentality and some of the characters are strident in their views, the whole never feels maudlin or didactic.

Dolphin lovers will appreciate this look at our complicated relationship with these marine mammals. (Fiction. 10-13)