Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Η Ελένα ξέρει by Claudia Piñeiro

40 reviews

ericj32's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

This novel opens with the mystery of Elena’s daughter’s suspicious death - she’s found hanging in the belfry of the local church.  The death is ruled a suicide by the police, but that doesn’t make any sense to Elena, so she’s determined to figure out what really happened.  The chapters alternate between Elena’s current search for answers and flashbacks that provide context.  The whole narrative encompasses just one day, following Elena’s excruciatingly slow journey via multiple modes of transportation to ask an old acquaintance for assistance in investigating her daughter’s death.  The identity of this acquaintance and Elena’s connection to her is kept a secret from the reader until the end of the novel, when Elena finally arrives on her doorstep.  The ending is somewhat surprising and emotionally heavy.  In some ways, it seemed to introduce new themes that didn’t feel very connected to the rest of the narrative.  But overall, the story was engaging and the characters felt frustratingly lifelike in their flaws and contradictions.  It also gives you an intimate insight into the experiences of living with Parkinson’s disease and also the rationale of why a woman may want and need access to abortion services.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Vomit

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Excrement

kg18's review against another edition

mysterious slow-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Suicide

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

Minor: Abortion and Pregnancy

hmmitsvenus's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I've never really read a book quite like this one before.

First of all, Elena Knows is a story about a grieving mother searching for answers. After Elena, an elderly widow suffering from Parkinson's disease is told that her daughter Rita has committed suicide, she knows that can't be true, that Rita must have been murdered, and sets out on a trip to call in a twenty year old debt to help her in her investigation.

While the synopsis reads like a crime story, let me assure you that this is anything but. This book's central themes of mother-daughter relationships, religious doctrine, bodily autonomy, and most notably abortion, paired with this story's setting and unique perspective come together to create a haunting and interesting atmosphere. There is just something so deeply tragic hanging over every page and every scene of this book like a dark cloud - right up until the very end, the climax and resolution, where everything (which is to say, Elena) changes.

There is not a single good person in this book. Rita is especially wretched to everyone around her, although when you take into account her circumstances by the end of the book, it's understandable. Notably, the plot revolves around three women - Elena, our heroine with her failing body, Rita, Elena's uptight and snappy daughter and caregiver, and Isabel, who owes Elena and Rita a debt. Or at least Elena thinks she does. It's hard to get into it without venturing into spoiler territory, but I loved how this book wove in its central themes, especially of bodily autonomy, alongside the narrative. None of these women's bodies are theirs, their bodies do not belong to them. The main course of events is spread out over one day, but we jump back and forth through time to see Elena and Rita's strained relationship and the events that led up to that fateful day, and the writing handles this shift impeccably.

Speaking of the writing - the writing was what truly held up this entire book. Paragraph breaks are practically nonexistent, and we get pages and pages of text block before a new paragraph begins, but even so, the writing feels fluid and natural. It would be incredibly hard for most writers to pull this off well, but Piñeiro is clearly a master at her craft.

A short but wonderful read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Excrement, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Pregnancy

jodiealicia's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.5

A book club pick and not one I would’ve read of my own accord - score reflects that! It’s certainly interesting but very bleak. I understand the artistic choice of the repetition but it does grate. If you’re into no plot just vibes depressing litfic then I’m sure you’ll enjoy it, but not for me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Pregnancy

djbobthegirl's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Medical content

Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Excrement, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

vbarsi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

themes of pro/anti-abortion, struggling with being a caretaker for someone with a terminal illness

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Grief

Moderate: Vomit and Abortion

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy

matt___jb's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

This is a very heavy read, but also very interesting and informative about Parkinson's Disease (and also to a lesser degree about Argentina as a country). The final third is very good, but the middle section did drag on a little bit (but for deliberate reasons so that the reader is completely in the mind and day-to-day struggles of the main character).

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy

ccerpa's review against another edition

4.25

very interesting, but very heavy (though short) reflection on the challenges and lack of support that caregivers of people (old & young) with chronic illness and children. when the big parallel was drawn at the end, I had to sit with it for a while, it was rough!! but so good!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Abortion, and Pregnancy

jesselopod's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

I don’t think I have ever read anything like this. Very complex characters, an unlikely protagonist for a crime novel both in age and physical state, and ultimately an incredible commentary on bodily autonomy, societal expectations and motherhood, but the less spoken about aspects of motherhood beyond the rose-tinted version we’re comfortable with. The writing style really helped the story match the struggles of the protagonist, but without the standard disability tropes and inspiration porn, she was tenacious and determined, hard and unlikeable, but with some cutting moments of vulnerability. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, and Medical content

Moderate: Infertility, Rape, Suicide, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism

bibliomania_express's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Grief

Minor: Infertility, Rape, Sexual assault, Excrement, and Pregnancy