Elena Knows

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Daas’s depiction of Paris has been hailed by critics, showing young people marooned in suburbs only 15km from Paris, but with no direct transportation. Her beautifully drawn descriptions of endless hours on public transport were Daas’s way of exploring a commute she once considered “normal”, then grew to see as an “injustice”.Daas’s overriding message is that you don’t have to give up any part of yourself: you can inhabit a host of seemingly clashing identities at once. “I wanted to smash the codes and norms that everyone has to navigate,” Daas says. “I wanted to talk to everyone who ever felt they had to give up a part of themselves and say: ‘No, we don’t have to.’” Angelique Chrisafis

Rita and Elena must face the monumental task of proving Elena’s disability for the insurance company. At one point Rita asks the agent, Elena Knows is highly recommended, and truly breaks out of any crime writing mould one could imagine the author to occupy, as my two Nobel laureate comparisons hopefully should make clear. The book is short yet moves slowly and painfully like Elena and captures the trauma of having one's life governed by a disease progressively worsening. The writing is taut and captures the ambiance of sorrow and suffering. It is an excellent book, though sad, and I found it difficult to read at times because of the harsh reality it so vividly portrayed. Nevertheless, I felt Elena Knows deserved its Booker nomination. They could’ve told you a dozen times what it feels like to have Parkinson’s, in precise, graphic words, sparing no details, but you only knew the truth once the disease was inside your body. You can imagine the pain, the guilt, the shame, the humiliation. But you only know something once you’ve experienced it in your life, life is our greatest test.On Jan. 24, 2021, abortion became legal in Argentina for the first time since 1886. This landmark shift was the result of decades of committed grass-roots agitation by activists from various walks of life, including the renowned writer Claudia Piñeiro. We are polite people so we explained that we discuss such 'stories' about invented characters regularly, and that if he is patient and listens to the discussion, he might see how useful not only for understanding other people but also for understanding ourselves such 'made-up stories' can be.

Un libro cortito pero de excelente calidad que me ha hecho desear leer más de esta escritora nueva para mí -¡probablemente mi "descubrimiento del año"!.Elena Knows”, by Claudia Pineiro was short-listed for the International Booker Prize 2022. Frances Riddle is the translator of this Argentinian story. Frances Riddle: You’ve published more than ten books, won some major literary prizes, and you’re the most translated Argentine author after Borges and Cortázar. In short, you’ve had a very successful literary career. How did you get your start as a writer? What first put you on this path?