I’ve been to well over a hundred events at Hay Festivals over the years but this interview with the Argentinian author of ‘The Secret in Their Eyes’ was a first. The author answered in his native Spanish and we all donned headsets with wireless packs to hear the simultaneous translation. Despite the late start and a couple of minor technical challenges it was well worth it.

The novel which has become an oscar winning film covers the period of the bloody repressions in Argentina in the 1970s and the corruption at the heart of the political system.

We were treated to two stunning extracts from the film, the first a chilling clip from the film that with breathtaking clarity channelled the stark injustices of the time. The literal injustices, portrayed in the fictional account, began with the real life amnesties for convicted criminals after the 1973 election.

The storytelling is powerful and unforgiving and was in the words of the author almost too depressing to tell. The English translation of the book ‘The Secret in Their Eyes’ is available in October.