After thirty years away, the Winterlings rejoin this variegated troupe. Sisters Dolores and Saladina has fled their village for the United Kingdom at the start of the Spanish Civil War. They have returned to what used to be their grandfather’s house in Tierra de Chá. They are fleeing once again, it seems, but they can’t escape the secret that binds them, in love and hate, like a feral embrace.

Sánchez-Andrade has a dark, witty sense of humour. In Tierra de Chá, people have a habit of making up truths and memories, which makes the line between fact and fancy a tenuous one. Her prose is moving; it has an oral quality that reminds me of another famous Galician author, Ramón Valle-Inclán. Samuel Rutter’s translation is a pleasure to read. It piques our curiosity with localisms and interesting turns of phrase that are not difficult to understand. In its style and use of language, the novel feels Galician, but never to the point that it alienates English readers.