‘Elena Knows’ by Claudia Pineiro

This is a beautifully written novel set in Argentina and translated from Spanish. It is highly original and very interesting, but boy is it sad.

On the surface it is a rather unusual detective story. A woman called Rita has died and the police think it was a suicide. But her elderly mother - the eponymous Elena - is certain that it was a murder, and she sets out to prove her case.

This is much much more than a conventional detective story. It is a brilliant work of literary fiction written with depth, compassion and not a little well-justified anger.

Elena suffers from Parkinson’s disease – in a particularly fast developing form – and is thus very disabled. She relies on tablets to get her limbs moving and has to take them at certain defined times of the day. She can not lift her head, and so perceives the world in large part by looking at peoples’ feet.

Rita was, until her death by hanging in a church belfry, Elena’s full time carer. She was also, it would appear, someone with huge troubles herself, struggling to cope etc, and someone whose strong religious principles constantly clash with her personal feelings. There is also a third major character, Isobel, who Elena is trying to find to ask for assistance with her quest to prove that Rita did not kill herself.

The narrative shifts back and forth in time. Much is set on a single day as Elena takes a train and then a taxi for the purposes of visiting Isobel on the other side of Buenos Aires. But we are also provided with the backstories of all three characters.

It is extraordinarily well done. Elegant and compelling. A powerful meditation in some ways on motherhood and the expectations placed on women in a society which is still dominated by conservative Catholic thinking. Very impressive indeed. Quite brief, but a heavy, emotional and very rewarding read.