Reviews

Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro

Only show reviews with written explanations

kellerko's review

3.0

Short, poignant and painful read. A woman with Parkinson’s disease is searching for her daughters killer. Along the way, she contemplates the choices she made in life and the beliefs that she shared without thinking things through first.

louka01's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

mirum's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

julianoelle's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Definitely a profound book. Part four was revealing and moving and a lot of food for thought in the dialogue between Elena and Isabel. The slow pace build up was difficult to get through, although I understand it is necessary to illustrate Elena's illness. It's much about bodily autonomy; not just abortion, but caretakers, children, sicknesses, too. We shouldn't act like we know everything about another person even if they are our partner or family. Only I know about myself and no one should be able to tell me otherwise, and if I believe this about myself, I must recognize and respect the independence of all other people.