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A review by mariaslibrary
Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro
dark
emotional
tense
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Such a stark portrait of being trapped in a body that's no longer your own. The details so clear they conveyed both beauty and horror. Even the lack of paragraphs and full blocks of justified text gave the impression of there being no relief, no possibility of escape.
Though a rather short book, set mostly of the course of a single day, I found myself unable to put it down and a growing sense of dread and our protagonist trudged forward not knowing if at anytime she would become fully helpless, trapped inside a body that doesn't respond to her commands.
With so much bitterness and resentment between the mother and daughter at the center of our story, it would be natural to dislike them, but I found empathy for them both.
Without any spoilers, I will just say that I was satisfied with the ending though like the rest of the book it was grim. It was such an uncomfortable read and yet just so good.
Though a rather short book, set mostly of the course of a single day, I found myself unable to put it down and a growing sense of dread and our protagonist trudged forward not knowing if at anytime she would become fully helpless, trapped inside a body that doesn't respond to her commands.
With so much bitterness and resentment between the mother and daughter at the center of our story, it would be natural to dislike them, but I found empathy for them both.
Without any spoilers, I will just say that I was satisfied with the ending though like the rest of the book it was grim. It was such an uncomfortable read and yet just so good.