The University of Nevada Press (USA) has already published the translation into English of Harkaitz Cano's 'Blade of Light' (El filo de la Hierba) in its Basque Literature series.
Blade of Light is a uchronia—an alternate history—in its main plot line, Hitle
r has won the Second World War and now dominates Europe. He then decides to conquer fi
rst Manhattan and then the whole American continent. His journey takes him to New York on a ship aboard which Charles Chaplin is also traveling.
Chaplin has been imprisoned and tortured on account of his film The Great Dictator, which remains a pesky thorn in Hitler’s side.
On a second level another story is told—that of a stowaway who traveled to New York in 1886 hidden inside the crown of the Statue of Liberty. The fate of this stowaway, Olivier Legrand, crosses Chaplin’s, who manages to escape from his torturers and finds refuge with the now old man.
The originality of the story has its narrative counterpoint in Cano’s attractive prose style, full of images and lyricism. A master of “what if ?” and suspense, the novel is also an important reflection on life and the process of writing and artistic creation.
Harkaitz Cano (Donostia, 1975) writes fiction and poetry. Among his books are Neguko zirkua (2005), a collection of short stories, and Piano gainean gosaltzen (2000), a chronicle born of the time he spent in New York before the 9/11.
Also connected to his stay in this city is the poetry collection Norbait dabil sute-eskaileran (2001). He is a seasoned scriptwriter for audiovisual media and comics, and his novels have been translated into Russian, Greek and German.
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