The paper studies Memories of a Cow (Behi euskaldun baten memoriak Memorias de una vaca 1992) the novel written by the famous Basque writer Bernardo Axtaga. The novel is interpreted as a key work of the Basque literature of the post-vanguard period. The main feature which determines the text structure of the book is the author’s intention to «cross borders». The concept «border» in the paper is taken in the broad meaning of the word: 1) It means the real delimitation lines between countries or parts of the same region; 2) It is symbolic representation of the imagined factors or signs with which individuals identify themselves and differentiate themselves from the Other; 3) Borders are literary conventions which the writers have to follow when they create their books; 4) They are norms of what is acceptable or what is not acceptable in the social practices when discussing the traumatic past. Two problems are given special attention in the paper: historical memory and identity. In order to solve these problems Bernardo Axtaga has developed an original system of poetic devices. The key elements of the system are genre syncretism intertextuality and polyphonic strategy of narration.