The Last Shepherd (The Basque Series) - Softcover

Etchart, Martin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 087417886X ISBN 13: 9780874178869

Publisher: University of Nevada Press, 2012

Synopsis

Mathieu Etchiberri wants nothing more than to leave his family’s Arizona sheep ranch and go to college, but his father insists that he take over the ranch instead. Then his father is killed in an accident, and Matt discovers that he is not the heir to the ranch. So he travels to the French Pyrenees from which his father and grandparents came to settle the questions about his legacy. Instead, he discovers a vast Basque family and a mystery that drove his father to America and still festers in the mountain village. As Matt resolves the mystery of his family, he also discovers his Basque roots and learns the nature of love of family, responsibility, and the tension between individual desires and the needs of a community.

Matt’s journey to manhood takes place in a vividly depicted landscape populated by lively, memorable characters. This is the powerful story of a young man’s search for an identity that encompasses two cultures and one complex, scattered family.

About this title

About the Author:

Martin Etchart is director of the creative writing program at Phoenix College. He has written screenplays and another novel, The Good Oak (University of Nevada Press).

From Booklist:

*Starred Review* With all the wit and insight of Sherman Alexie or Jonathan Safran Foer, Etchart deepens the coming-of-age genre with this novel about 20-year-old Mathieu Etchiberri, a young man who feels as if he’s been raised by aliens. Turns out he has. Mathieu lives on an Arizona mountainside sheep ranch with his father, grandfather, and great-uncle, all Basque immigrants. Immigrants with such deep roots in their home country that Mathieu, a thoroughly acculturated American via school and neighbors, just doesn’t get them. Worse, he resents them, especially his father, who insists that Mathieu stay on the ranch instead of leaving home to attend the state university. A sudden twist of fate seems to erase any chance of the future he desires. His father is killed in a car accident, and his son becomes responsible for the ranch. Then another surprising turn of events forces Mathieu to travel to his ancestral home, deep in French Basque country, to save the ranch and save himself from his own immaturity. This is a fine, charming, terrific story about a fascinating culture, and the value of family and knowing where they—and thus you—come from. --Donna Chavez

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Nevada Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 087417886X
• ISBN 13: 9780874178869
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 203