Elena Knows by Claudia Pi?eiro (English) Paperback Book

Description: Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro, Frances Riddle In a single day, a journey across Buenos Aires reveals a daughter to her mother, a mother to herself, and the oppressive weight of received ideas to women connected by a fleeting encounter, twenty years before. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description SHORTLISTED for the International Booker Prize 2022After Rita is found dead in a church she used to attend, the official investigation into the incident is quickly closed. Her sickly mother is the only person still determined to find the culprit. Chronicling a difficult journey across the suburbs of the city, an old debt and a revealing conversation, Elena Knows unravels the secrets of its characters and the hidden facets of authoritarianism and hypocrisy in our society. Author Biography Born in Buenos Aires in 1960, Claudia Piñeiro is a best-selling author, known internationally for her crime novels. She has won numerous national and international prizes, including the Pepe Carvalho Prize, the LiBeraturpreis for Elena Knows and the prestigious Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize for Las grietas de Jara (A Crack in the Wall). Many of her novels have been adapted for the big screen, including Elena Knows (Netflix). Piñeiro is the third most translated Argentinean author after Jorge Luis Borges and Julio Cortázar. Shes also a playwright and scriptwriter (including popular Netflix series The Kingdom ). Her novel Elena Knows was shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize.Frances Riddle has translated numerous Spanish-language authors including Isabel Allende, Claudia Piñeiro, Leila Guerriero, and Sara Gallardo. Her translation of Theatre of War by Andrea Jeftanovic was granted an English PEN Award in 2020. Her work has appeared in journals such as Granta, Electric Literature , and The White Review , among others. She holds a BA in Spanish Language Literature from Louisiana State University and an MA in Translation Studies from the University of Buenos Aires. In 2022, Frances translation of Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize. Originally from Houston, Texas she lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Review International Booker Prize (Shortlist)Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award - Fiction (Shortlist)LiBeraturpreis (Winner)"Short and stylish…a piercing commentary on mother-daughter relationships, the indignity of bureaucracy, the burdens of caregiving and the impositions of religious dogma on women." —New York Times"A lyrical portrait of a woman unable to grieve...incisive commentary on Catholic societys control of womens bodies." —Publishers Weekly"A murder mystery with a twist." —The Globe and Mail"Its true brilliance, though, is in how it flips Elenas insular daily reality into a much broader commentary on how the hypocrisy of Catholic society manifests in the lives and judgments of ordinary people. A highly accomplished and original novel, translated with great sensitivity to tone and atmosphere by Frances Riddle." —Irish Times"A gloriously taut and haunting tale…astonishingly assured."" —Denise Mina , author of GODS AND BEASTS and THE LONG DROP"A fascinating, twisty tale." —The Listener"Contending with sorrow and illness, as well as the burdens of caregiving, bodily horrors, and forced presumptions in the lives of women, Elena Knows is a bold, visceral work of fiction." —Jeremy Garber, Powells Bookshop"[Piñeiros] words work a kind of magic only very masterful literature does." —Lucy Writers"In Elena, Piñeiro has created an uncommon Virgil who reminds readers of the damaging and even deadly effects of imposing ones convictions on others." —Necessary Fiction"A subtle and skilful exploration of how far women have the right to control their own bodies." —The Conversation"Riveting, revelatory and brilliantly imaginative." —Lonesome Reader"Subverting genre expectations." —The Arts Fuse************Praise for Claudia Piñeiro"Not for nothing is Claudia Piñeiro Argentinas most popular crime writer. Betty Boo is original, witty and hugely entertaining; it mixes murder with love, political power and journalism. Delightful characters include a morose veteran hack and a young trainee known only as Crime Boy. Iscar falls in love and the homicide count has moved up the ladder of Argentine politicians." —The Times"At the start of this thought-provoking mystery from Piñeiro (A Crack in the Wall), maid Gladys Verela arrives at the Maravillosa Country Club, where industrialist Pedro Chazaretta has a house on the grounds. In the living room, Gladys spots Chazaretta sitting in a chair, apparently asleep, but in fact his throat has been slit. In Piñeiros artful hands, each of her investigators learns as much about himself or herself as about the murder on the way to the surprising, perfectly executed ending." —Publishers Weekly"Those willing to take the time to enjoy the style and the unusual denouement will find themselves wondering why more crime authors dont take the kinds of risks Piñeiro does." —Booklist"Piñeiro is AWESOME. Her books are dark, have buckets of atmosphere, and they all feel entirely different even though she revisits some of the same issues again and again. She deals with the culture and social structure within gated communities; shows how walling ourselves in seems safer, but actually promotes fear and claustrophobia; she deals with gender roles and prejudice and economic class and long-held secrets that fester." —Book Riot"A striking meditation on loss and the search for home." —Publishers Weekly"A moving story about the courage to face the past and earn a chance at redemption." —Kirkus"An investigation into the limits of narrative, Claudia Piñeiros latest cements the writer as a giant of Argentine literature. (5 stars)" —The Skinny"A Little Luck is a thrilling read, a page turner, a mystery, a psychological deep dive into character."" —Julia Alvarez , author of HOW THE GARCÍA GIRLS LOST THEIR ACCENTS and IN THE TIME OF THE BUTTERFLIES|IN THE NAME OF SALOMÉ"Piñeiro excels at creating poignant, emotive fiction which aims for both heart and head." —Jeremy Garber, Powells Bookshop"I highly recommend A Little Luck by Claudia Piñeiro." —Harvard Bookstore"Piñeiro is quickly establishing herself to English readers as a novelist capable of utter devastation, but she consistently offers a little hope in the dark. " —The Big Issue"A must-read." —Morning Star"Piñeiro once again demonstrates her expertise in suspense and intrigue." —Sounds & Colours"The writing and pacing are superb...theres not a dull moment to be had." —Tonys Reading List**********"Like fabric, this book is woven from different textualities. Intermittently, a chorus appears who comment, in the style of Ancient Greek theatre, on what is happening. (…) Combined with these voices are texts from well-known figures: Rebecca Solnit, Rita Segato, Judith Butler, Vivian Gornick, Marguerite Duras..." —Infobae"The novel portrays the new life of the main character and the culture shock she experiences on encountering a world that is much more feminist than the one she remembers, when she only knew a single way to be a woman." —elDiarioAR"The intellectual, artistic and creative challenges expressed in Time of the Flies confront us with the destruction of the archetypes of specific periods, where the resistances and oppositions are intense and come from all sides." —Diario Cine y Literatura CL"A detective novel that corroborates this writers experience with the genre and her capacity to travel to the darkest corners of the human soul, always from multiple perspectives." —Hermeneuta Revista Cultural"Once inside (as you will find out for yourself) there is no let-up." —El Español"As they try to rebuild their lives on release from prison, Inés and Manca experience ups and downs that show them that love is not always what we call love and that we do not always feel what we really think we feel. In the realm of the emotions, there are no absolute truths either." —Tiempo Argentino"It is a stimulating exercise to imagine the challenges characters who embody a particular period would face in the present day. This is what Piñeiro attempts here, and hits the nail on the head with Inés, who resonates with irreverent questions about the possibility of being contemporary and wholly genuine at the same time." —La Nación"Piñeiro interweaves the stories of Inés and Manca in a kind of suburban Thelma and Louise, with a chorus of women who debate subjects such as the achievements of feminism, inclusive language and abortion, among other matters" —Pagina/12********** Review Quote Praise for Claudia Pi Feature Previously published in English as a crime writer, Elena Knows reintroduces Pi Excerpt from Book The trick is to lift up the right foot, just a few centimetres off the floor, move it forward through the air, just enough to get past the left foot, and when it gets as far as it can go, lower it. Thats all it is, Elena thinks. But she thinks this, and even though her brain orders the movement, her right foot doesnt move. It does not lift up. It does not move forward through the air. It does not lower back down. Its so simple. But it doesnt do it. So Elena sits and waits. In her kitchen. She has to take the train into the city at ten oclock; the one after that, the eleven oclock, wont do because she took the pill at nine, so she thinks, and she knows, that she has to take the ten oclock train, right after the medication has managed to persuade her body to follow her brains orders. Soon. The eleven oclock train wont do because by then the medicines effect will have diminished and almost disappeared and shell be back to where she is now, but without any hope that the levodopa will take effect. Levodopa is the name for the chemical that will begin circulating in her body once the pill has dissolved; she has known that name for a while now. Levodopa. The doctor said it and she wrote it down for herself on a piece of paper because she knew she wasnt going to understand the doctors handwriting. She knows that the levodopa is moving through her body. All she can do now is wait. She counts the streets. She recites the names from memory. From first to last and last to first. Lupo, Moreno, 25 de Mayo, Mitre, Roca. Roca, Mitre, 25 de Mayo. Moreno, Lupo. Levodopa. Its only five blocks to the train station, its not that many, she thinks, and she continues reciting the street names, and continues waiting. Five. She cant yet shuffle down those five blocks but she can silently repeat the street names. She hopes she doesnt run into anyone she knows today. No one who will ask after her health or give her their delayed condolences over the death of her daughter. Every day theres some new person who couldnt make it to the visitation or the burial. Or who didnt dare to. Or didnt want to. When someone like Rita dies, everyone feels invited to the funeral. Thats why ten oclock is the worst time, she thinks, because to get to the station she has pass by the bank and todays the day the retirees go to withdraw their pension, so its very likely that shell run into some neighbour. Or several neighbours. The bank opens right at ten oclock, when the train should be arriving at the station and shell already have her ticket in her hand about to board, but before that, Elena knows, shes going to have to pass the retirees lined up outside as if theyre afraid the money will run out so they have to get there early. She can avoid going past the bank if she makes the block, but thats something the Parkinsons wont allow. Thats its name. Elena knows she hasnt been the one in charge of some parts of her body for a while now, her feet, for example. Hes in charge. Or she. And she wonders if Parkinsons is masculine or feminine, because even though the name sounds masculine its still an illness, and an illnesses is something feminine. Just like a disgrace. Or a curse. And so she thinks she should address her as My Lady, because when she thinks about it, she thinks "what a bitch of an illness." And a bitch is a she, not a he. Excuse the expression, mlady. Dr. Benegas explained it to her several times but she still doesnt understand; she understands what she has because its inside her body, but not some of the words that the doctor uses. Rita was there when he first explained the disease. Rita, whos now dead. He told them that Parkinsons was a degradation of the cells of the nervous system. And both she and her daughter disliked that word. Degradation. And Dr. Benegas mustve noticed, because he quickly tried to explain. And he said, an illness of the central nervous system that degrades, or mutates, or changes, or modifies the nerve cells in such a way that they stop producing dopamine. And then Elena learned that when her brain orders a movement to her feet, for example, the order only reaches her feet if the dopamine takes it there. Like a messenger, she thought that day. So Parkinsons is the lady and dopamine is the messenger. And her brain is nothing, she thinks, because her feet dont listen to it. Like a dethroned king that doesnt realize hes not in charge anymore. Like the emperor with no clothes from the story she used to tell Rita when she was little. The dethroned king, the naked emperor. And now its the lady, not Elena but her illness, the messenger, and the dethroned king. Elena repeats the names like she repeated the streets she has to pass to get to the station; the names keep her company while she waits. From first to last and last to first. She doesnt like the naked emperor. She prefers the dethroned king. She waits, she repeats, she breaks them into pairs: the lady and the messenger; the messenger and the king, the king and the lady. She tries again but her feet are still foreign to her, not merely disobedient, but deaf. Deaf feet. Elena would love to shout at them, Move, feet, hurry it up! Dammit, shed even shout, Move and hurry it up, dammit, but she knows it would be useless, because her feet wont listen to her voice either. So she doesnt shout, she waits. She silently recites the streets, kings, streets again. She adds new words to her prayer: dopamine, levodopa. She makes the connection between the dopa of dopamine and of levodopa, they must be related, but shes just guessing, she doesnt know for sure, she recites the words, plays with them, she lets her tongue get twisted, she waits, and she doesnt care, she only cares that the time passes, that the pill dissolves, that it moves through her body to her feet so that they will finally get the message that they have to start moving. Description for Sales People Previously published in English as a crime writer, Elena Knows reintroduces Pi Details ISBN1999368436 Pages 173 Publisher Charco Press Language English Year 2021 ISBN-10 1999368436 ISBN-13 9781999368432 Format Paperback Translator Frances Riddle Imprint Charco Press Place of Publication Edinburgh Country of Publication United Kingdom AU Release Date 2021-07-13 NZ Release Date 2021-07-13 Publication Date 2021-07-13 UK Release Date 2021-07-13 Author Frances Riddle Alternative 9781999368494 DEWEY 863.7 Audience General Illustrations Not illustrated We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:132719175;

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