My Favourite Read of 2025: ‘Clean’ by Alia Trabucco Zerán

My favourite read of the year, Alia Trabucco Zerán's 'Clean' is a masterclass in slow burn, claustrophobic, suspense.

Centred around and told by Estela, a maid, this literary thriller intricately explores themes of class, violence, and domesticity. I demolished it in a day. It’s reads like this that reinforce to me that there is no such thing as someone who doesn’t like, or isn’t very good at reading, you just need to find the right book.

The changing political arena of Chile provides the underbelly of the story. The beautiful house in which the story takes place becomes a boiling pot of frustrations, bound to spill over eventually. Perhaps the house is a microcosm for Chile’s fragile and divided political landscape. Estela's monotonous daily life curdles more with every turn of the page, as her seemingly simple circumstances unfurl. 

When we open the book, we know one simple fact: a girl has died. And through Estela's eyes, the web of the story is untangled in what feels like real time, especially if you have the time to sit and read it in one day. Her voice is compelling, and the story is gripping.

This is the fastest I've finished a book in a long time, I couldn't put it down, I was so desperate to find out what had happened. 

Let's also take a moment for this cover - it is so simple yet so effective.

Thank you so much 4th Estate Books for the proof, I absolutely loved it!