Translated by Frances Riddle — Claudia Piñeiro is one of Argentina’s most translated authors and her novel Elena Knows was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022 and developed into a Netflix film. In Cathedrals, Piñeiro delivers a psychological family crime novel that focuses on institutional corruption, sexism and the long-term effects of trauma. We previously reviewed A Crack in the Wall by the same author.
The central plot revolves around the murder of Ana Sardá 30 years ago in Adrogue, a quiet Buenos Aires neighbourhood where violent crime was unheard of. The 17-year-old was found dismembered and burned in a field but the police investigation concluded with no arrests, causing her religious family to disintegrate.
Three decades later, Ana’s father, Alfredo, still hasn’t given up on justice for his daughter. The narrative unfolds through seven distinct personal perspectives from characters related to the victim. It’s up to you to decide who to believe.
Lía, the middle sister, narrates the first section. Her loss of faith occurred at Ana’s funeral when she declared herself an atheist. She found it unfathomable that so many people chose to believe an unlikely story told thousands of times over the centuries and commit their entire lives to it. Lía cut ties with the Catholic Church and her family, fleeing Argentina to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, where she owns a bookstore. Her only communication with her family is the letters she exchanges with her father. They discuss a wide range of subjects, but never family or Ana’s death. Lía felt like a satellite gone out of its orbit.
Her self-inflicted exile is interrupted when Carmen, her eldest sister, who she never got along with, and brother-in-law, Julián, arrive unannounced at her bookshop. Their son, Mateo, is missing and they believe he might have come looking for his estranged aunt. They casually mention that Alfredo has died, a fact no one thought to share with Lía. Carmen and Julian seem like truly despicable people with a misguided sense of morality.
We then hear the voice of the missing Mateo, an architecture student who grew up under the shadow of his aunt’s murder. With his grandfather’s encouragement, Mateo follows a travel route to see the most beautiful European cathedrals, a pilgrimage they planned to conclude at Santiago de Compostela with his aunt Lía.
Marcela, Ana’s best friend, narrates the third section. She suffers from retrograde amnesia, unable to form new short-term memories after a church statue of an archangel fell on her the day Ana died. Marcela remembers Ana dying in her arms in a church pew. The police claim this timeline is impossible because Ana’s body was only found the next day. Marcela was the only one who knew how Ana died, but she vowed to her friend never to expose her secret. Who should we believe? The police or Marcela?
The remaining narrators include the now-retired police officer who was assigned to Ana’s murder case and is convinced that due to police corruption and incompetence it wasn’t investigated properly. This is followed by the perspectives of Julián and Carmen and finally a moving letter from Alfredo, which reveals what he knew about Ana’s death.
At the centre of Cathedrals stands the conflict between religious fanaticism and morality. Piñeiro examines how faith is used to justify cruelty and immoral behaviour. Set against Argentina’s sociopolitical landscape, the story captures a society dealing with political upheaval, poverty and religious beliefs that restrict women. The novel specifically addresses reproductive rights, exposing the realities of illegal abortions and the human cost of reproductive restrictions.
Cathedrals shows how misguided religious beliefs can justify gender violence and protect perpetrators. Piñeiro tackles these urgent social issues with immense skill, keeping the narrative engaging without alienating the reader. It’s a haunting novel and necessary read that demonstrates why Piñeiro has been called the Queen of Argentine noir. It’s a strong contender for crime novel of the year.
For more Argentinian crime fiction, also see Sergio Olguín’s The Best Enemy.
Charco Press
Print/Kindle/iBook
£10.49
CFL Rating: 5 Stars
