Elena Knows - Reading Guide
Discover what the judges had to say about this unique story that interweaves crime fiction with intimate tales of morality and the search for individual freedom.
Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022. A unique story that interweaves crime fiction with intimate tales of morality and the search for individual freedom. Translated by Frances Riddle.
After Rita is found dead in the bell tower of the church she used to attend, the official investigation into the incident is quickly closed. Her sickly mother is the only person still determined to find the culprit. Chronicling a difficult journey across the suburbs of the city, an old debt and a revealing conversation, Elena Knows unravels the secrets of its characters and the hidden facets of authoritarianism and hypocrisy in our society.
In February 2023, Netflix announced a theatrical adaption of the novel. Starring Mercedes Morán, one of Argentina’s top TV and film actresses. Elena Knows is set to be released on film in late 2023.
Claudia Piñeiro
About the Author
Claudia Piñeiro is best known for her crime novels, which are bestsellers in Argentina, Latin America and around the world. Many of her novels have been adapted for the big screen.
Frances Riddle
About the Translator
Frances Riddle has translated numerous Spanish-language authors, including Isabel Allende, Claudia Piñeiro, Leila Guerriero, María Fernanda Ampuero, and Sara Gallardo.The things I found most enjoyable about translating Elena Knows were also the biggest challenges. I was
initially drawn to the style and format of this book with its long sentences and long paragraphs and unmarked speech.— Frances Riddle, translator of Elena Knows
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Photos from the ceremony
Shortlisted authors Bora Chung, Mieko Kawakami, Jon Fosse, Geetanjali Shree and Claudia Piñeiro at the 2022 International Booker Prize Ceremony
© David Parry/PA
Shortlisted translators David Boyd, Sam Bett, Frances Riddle, Daisy Rockwell, Anton Hur and Damion Searls at the 2022 International Booker Prize Ceremony
© David Parry/PA
Booker judges Viv Groskop, Petina Gappah, Frank Wynne, Jeremy Tiang and Merve Emre at the 2022 International Booker Prize ceremony
© David Parry/PA
The 2022 International Booker Prize Ceremony.
© David Parry/PAClaudia Piñeiro’s short and deeply felt novel, evokes the loneliness of ageing and the uncertainty of memory. Frances Riddle’s brutal yet sparing translation suggests the shadows and light of noir without ever eclipsing the very human tragedy at the core of the book.
— The 2022 International Booker Prize judges
