
Cathedrals
Claudia Pineiro(Author)
Charco Press
Published on 26. May 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-1-917260-28-2 (ISBN)
Description
Lia fled her home after a brutal crime decades ago, but family, and the truth, will never let you go.Thirty years ago, in an empty plot of a quiet neighbourhood, a teenage girl's body was found quartered and burned. The investigation ended with no arrests and her family - middle class, educated, Catholic - quietly disintegrated. Three decades later, the hidden truth comes to light thanks to the father's enduring love for the victim. That truth will reveal the raw realities lurking behind appearances, the cruelty of those who prioritize obedience and religious fanaticism, the complicity of the fearful and the indifferent, and the loneliness and desperation of those who seek to follow their own path, ignoring the dictates of their elders.Just as she did with Elena Knows and A Little Luck , Claudia Pineiro delves into family ties, social prejudice, and the ideologies and institutions that affect our inner worlds to deliver a brave, moving novel that strikes at the heart of these private dramas.
Reviews / Votes
"Family ties, social prejudice, institutions and defiance of authority are just some of the themes Claudia Pineiro addresses so masterfully." -Pagina/12"Cathedrals challenges us as a society. It obliges us to stop and think. The text demands that we discard our indifference." -Infobae
"The plot is kept taut by its silences (...) The ever skilful Pineiro appears to have invented a unique genre, the family crime novel, where everything stays in the home." -La Nacion
"A harrowing book that casts a revelatory light on the uncomfortable truth about clandestine abortions in Argentina." -El Mundo
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Praise for Claudia Pineiro
'Cathedrals is a novel committed to the harshest situations that a woman can face due to hypocrisy and religious prejudice. With great literary richness, a variety of stylistic resources and a deep knowledge of the human condition, Pineiro embroiders a web of contradictions and gray areas that reflect the reality of life.' JURY OF THE HAMMETT PRIZE (SPAIN) 2021
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Not illustrated
Dimensions
Height: 195 mm
Width: 126 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
304 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-917260-28-2 (9781917260282)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Persons
Claudia Pineiro is the author of Elena Knows , shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize. A best-selling Argentinian writer born in Buenos Aires in 1960, she is one of the most widely translated contemporary authors working in Spanish.
Frances Riddle has translated numerous Spanish-language authors, including Isabel Allende, Arturo Perez-Reverte, Claudia Pineiro, and Leila Guerriero. Her work has been shortlisted for the International Booker Prize and the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute Translation Prize. Originally from Houston, Texas, she lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Frances Riddle has translated numerous Spanish-language authors, including Isabel Allende, Arturo Perez-Reverte, Claudia Pineiro, and Leila Guerriero. Her work has been shortlisted for the International Booker Prize and the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute Translation Prize. Originally from Houston, Texas, she lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina.