Novel set around Buenos Aires

6th April 2022

Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro, novel set around Buenos Aires. Translated by Frances Riddle.

Shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2022 (Fiction, With a Sense of Place).

Elena has suffered the death of her daughter, who was found hanging in a belfry in the pouring rain. Mooted as suicide, she is keen to prove otherwise, so she sets off to find the one person whom she knows should have an answer for her. The police, who are supposed to have investigated the case, are dismissive and with minimal investigation conclude that Rita did indeed take her own life. She knows otherwise.

So she sets off to track down the person she has identified as being key and starts her journey through the city as best she can. To compound the difficulties of her trip from home, by rail and taxi, she suffers from Parkinson’s and therefore managing a train packed with people is quite a task for her. Her journey is marked by the points at which she has to take her pills to help with her condition, but her fellow passengers pay little heed to her and her disability. She is governed by the disease – Herself – that has taken control of her body.

This is a shuffle through the stations and stops that she experiences, a journey that takes place in one day. Her determination and stoicism, given the circumstances, shine through as she ponders her situation, reflects back on earlier times and recognises her need to understand what has happened. The narrative is a curious construct. It is very much like a stream of consciousness, dense prose and I guess I can say that I enjoyed the premise but didn’t so much enjoy the lay out. Clauses within clauses are standard fare in prose that runs and runs and I understand why the author has chosen this format – it conveys movement and fluidity when the main character is struggling with mobility. It enables the story to follow a trajectory which carries Elena along, rather like a river…. An interesting novel that didn’t really pull me in but many people feel very positively towards this book.

The novel is set in Buenos Aires but although there are observations of people and place, and the stops are described and named, there is little ‘feel’ of the city.

Tina for the TripFiction Team

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