Kristina Goikoetxea Langarka: “Twelve hours is a long time”
After spending 30 years at an African mission post, Daniel returns to his home town somewhere in southern Europe. He has his reasons for returning, but he has not informed his family of his imminent arrival. However, there is no question of a real homecoming because when he gets there, he sees that the town has changed beyond all recognition. His sense of alienation grows when his family fails to welcome him as the prodigal son who has finally returned. His family appears to be more concerned about the advent of the high speed train which will link the town with the capital, an idea which pleases some but not others.
Kristina Goikoetxea, who was born in the Basque Country in 1971, has lived in the Netherlands since 1995. She took translation studies in Granada and Dutch in Leiden. She is a freelance translator and journalist for various cultural newspapers in Spain. Goikoetxea has also written stories for Dutch literary magazines. Her first novel, Evamar, was published by De Geus in November 2007.
Presented by David Swatling and read by Paul Clark. Translation by Michael O’Laughlin.
Radio Books was produced in association with the Dutch-Flemish Huis de Buren in Brussels and the Flemisch broadcaster Klara.
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