Reviews with content warning for Abortion - Η Ελένα ξέρει

A heart-wrenching and at times harrowing story with the most extraordinary descriptions of living with advanced Parkinsons's disease. The author, Claudia Piñeiro, is known as an activist and this book covers many issues close to her heart. One that struck me was how lucky I am to live in a country with universal health care which, while far from perfect, doesn't require wrangling with insurance companies over every pill and which has care provision for this who need it. There are other, largely feminist, issues in here too. And examples of how many of us show love in our own way. This is a book which will stay with me for a long time.

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mmccombs's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

I thought I knew where this story would go and it completely took me by surprise. This was one of the finest uses of the “unreliable” narrator I’ve seen, I was right along with Elena for the entire book, wholeheartedly believing her perspective until the final scenes that make you realize that her “knowing” is not all that it seems. This was a book about bodies and who gets to control them, whether it be by others or even an illness. It explores disability while using Elena’s experience with Parkinson’s as a device to further limit the scope of what the audience is able to perceive, resulting in a restrictive feel to the narrative. This book used flashbacks very well, and the organization of the plot into Elena’s pill schedule was effective. For such a short book, this sure does pack a punch, I would highly recommend for great translation work and a wonderfully nuanced story about motherhood, disability, and what we are truly able to “know” about ourselves and others.

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masallah's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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lamati's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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viictoriaa's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

este es un libro perfecto, cada palabra tiene su significado y su propósito. claudia piñeiro es una genia y ojalá pudiera abundar más pero es que las palabras no me dan

increíble y si sigo analizando, se pone cada vez mejor. espero verla ganar un nobel de literatura fr fr, todos sus libros se volverán clásicos

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hazyreads's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

5.0

This book may be short but it tackles so much. The author explores a variety of complex topics about womanhood, chronic illness, motherhood, grief and most importantly, women’s automomies over their bodies, which I didn’t really expect considering at how short this book was.

This emotional read was amazing as it takes the reader along Elena’s day out in the city, while jumping from timeline to timeline as Elena encounters things or instances that reminded her of Rita. These are sudden and overly-consuming, which I think depicts grief very well.

When you lose a loved one, you’re only left with the memories. You’re left wondering what they were thinking, why they did the things they did.

Definitely a must-read!

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sohva's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Well written characters and an interesting mystery! Paragraphs were a bit too long which made reading on the phone annoying, but otherwise great.

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