Spanish / Argentina
Cleopatra lo sabía
(Cleopatra knew it)
Huidobro, Norma
(text)
Buenos Aires: Sudamericana, [2015]. – 271 p.
(Series: Sudamericana joven)
ISBN 978-950-07-5216-9
Secret | Crime fiction
Reading age: 14+
White Ravens issue: 2016
This novel is like a puzzle whose many parts make up a whole. Short chapters capture the perspectives of a very diverse array of characters who report on what happened in the apartment of the “crazy” married couple, as they are called by their neighbours. Screams are heard. The wife is later found dead. Was it suicide or murder? The mystery in this crime case is solved only very gradually, because there are so many different witnesses who claim to have seen or heard something. Readers are also fooled by red herrings. Norma Huidobro’s quick-paced story is written in fluid, highly readable language and with a healthy dose of humour. The multi-perspectival structure also makes reading enjoyable. Also entertaining are the disclosures of Tamara, one of the characters, who presents her view of things in a blog. Her readers offer a wild range of comments and contribute a further background chorus of voices to the crime mystery.