Bernardo Atxaga Returns with Novel 'Golondrinas' After Announced Retirement

Bernardo Atxaga, the Basque writer born in Asteasu, Gipuzkoa in 1951, has published a new novel titled 'Golondrinas' with Alfaguara in 2026, despite stating in 2020 that he was retiring from novel-writing after 'Casas y tumbas'. That earlier work earned him the National Prize for Spanish Literature in 2019. His latest book explores themes of death, violence, and solitude. Atxaga admits to an internal drive that compels him to continue writing, acknowledging that public statements about his intentions can become fixed in the press even if his views later shift. He expresses diminishing interest in ordinary human narrative voices, like his own, and reflects on the fatigue and subsequent desire that leads him back to writing. The article notes his previous declaration was made after the publication of 'Casas y tumbas', but he now clarifies he is not bidding farewell to the novel form.