Product description
From the author of Elena Knows , finalist for the 2022 International Booker Prize
20 years after a shocking accident, Mary Lohan returns to the Buenos Aires suburb she escaped in a fugue of guilt and isolation. She is not the sameānot her name or voice, not even the color of her eyes. The neighborhood looks different too, but sheās still the same woman and itās still the same place, and as the past erupts into view, they slowly collide.
A Little Luck is the story about the debilitating weight of lies, the messy line between bravery and cowardice, and the tragedies, big and small, that can ripple out from a single decisive event. In a place she had determined to forget forever, both anticipated encounters and unanticipated revelations show her, and us, that sometimes life is neither fate nor chance: perhaps itās nothing more than a little luck.
MEDIA REVIEWS
"A striking meditation on loss and the search for home." āPublishers Weekly
"A moving story about the courage to face the past and earn a chance at redemption." āKirkus
"An investigation into the limits of narrative, Claudia PiƱeiro's latest cements the writer as a giant of Argentine literature. (5 stars)" āThe Skinny
"A Little Luck is a thrilling read, a page turner, a mystery, a psychological deep dive into character."" āJulia Alvarez , author of HOW THE GARCĆA GIRLS LOST THEIR ACCENTS and IN THE TIME OF THE BUTTERFLIES|IN THE NAME OF SALOMĆ
"PiƱeiro excels at creating poignant, emotive fiction which aims for both heart and head." āJeremy Garber, Powell's Bookshop
"I highly recommend A Little Luck by Claudia PiƱeiro." āHarvard Bookstore
"PiƱeiro is quickly establishing herself to English readers as a novelist capable of utter devastation, but she consistently offers a little hope in the dark. " āThe Big Issue
"A must-read." āMorning Star
"PiƱeiro once again demonstrates her expertise in suspense and intrigue." āSounds & Colours
"The writing and pacing are superb...thereās not a dull moment to be had." āTony's Reading List
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Praise for Claudia PiƱeiro
International Booker Prize (Shortlist)
Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award - Fiction (Shortlist)
LiBeraturpreis (Winner)
"Short and stylishā¦a piercing commentary on mother-daughter relationships, the indignity of bureaucracy, the burdens of caregiving and the impositions of religious dogma on women." āNew York Times
"A lyrical portrait of a woman unable to grieve...incisive commentary on Catholic societyās control of womenās bodies." āPublishers Weekly
"A murder mystery with a twist." āThe Globe and Mail
"Its true brilliance, though, is in how it flips Elenaās insular daily reality into a much broader commentary on how the hypocrisy of Catholic society manifests in the lives and judgments of ordinary people. A highly accomplished and original novel, translated with great sensitivity to tone and atmosphere by Frances Riddle." āIrish Times
"A gloriously taut and haunting taleā¦astonishingly assured."" āDenise Mina , author of GODS AND BEASTS and THE LONG DROP
"A fascinating, twisty tale." āThe Listener
"Contending with sorrow and illness, as well as the burdens of caregiving, bodily horrors, and forced presumptions in the lives of women, Elena Knows is a bold, visceral work of fiction." āJeremy Garber, Powell's Bookshop
"[PiƱeiro's] words work a kind of magic only very masterful literature does." āLucy Writers
"In Elena, PiƱeiro has created an uncommon Virgil who reminds readers of the damaging and even deadly effects of imposing oneās convictions on others." āNecessary Fiction
"A subtle and skilful exploration of how far women have the right to control their own bodies." āThe Conversation
"Riveting, revelatory and brilliantly imaginative." āLonesome Reader
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"Like fabric, this book is woven from different textualities. Intermittently, a chorus appears who comment, in the style of Ancient Greek theatre, on what is happening. (ā¦) Combined with these voices are texts from well-known figures: Rebecca Solnit, Rita Segato, Judith Butler, Vivian Gornick, Marguerite Duras..." āInfobae
"The novel portrays the new life of the main character and the culture shock she experiences on encountering a world that is much more feminist than the one she remembers, when she only knew a single way to be a woman." āelDiarioAR
"The intellectual, artistic and creative challenges expressed in Time of the Flies confront us with the destruction of the archetypes of specific periods, where the resistances and oppositions are intense and come from all sides." āDiario Cine y Literatura CL
"A detective novel that corroborates this writerās experience with the genre and her capacity to travel to the darkest corners of the human soul, always from multiple perspectives." āHermeneuta Revista Cultural