Different than I expected
Bewertet mit 2 Sternen
When Myriam and Paul decide to find a nanny for their children so Myriam can go back to work, they come across Louise: a blond, slim, sturdy woman who does more than they could have ever dreamed of. Louise not only takes care of the children; she leaves the apartment spotless and cooks for the whole family. Their two small children, Mila and Adam, adore her. Quickly, Myriam cannot imagine life without Louise. She is finally back to working as a lawyer and feels like herself again. But Louise ends up killing both children and trying to take her own life right in the first few pages – what happened? Slimani starts with the horrifying scene and then goes back to the beginnings, slowly dissecting the deeply troubled relationship between Louise and this family.
This is the second book I’ve read by Leila Slimani. I did not particularly enjoy or “get” the first one I had read (“Adele”) but had heard and read so many raving reviews about “Lullaby” that I decided to give Slimani another try. After the gripping Intro, Slimani goes into the everyday life of these characters, very slowly describing Louise´s upbringing and past relationships, especially to her dead husband and estranged daughter. The book moves very slowly, with at times tedious descriptions of everyday situations that don’t contribute much to the story. I had to make myself keep reading, as I wanted to find out what Slimani had hinted at in those first pages: why did Louise do what she did? In the end, a lot of things go unsaid and are left to the reader to be interpreted. Overall a slow-moving novel that was not at all what I expected. I am not sure how much the translation factors into this- I could imagine this book being very well written in French but unfortunately, I did not enjoy the English translation.