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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
I'm going to try to not overly denounce this book since it's a foreign translation, and I often find that foreign novels read differently than those in my native language. Writing styles vary around the world, so perhaps in France this is how thrillers are written.
But man, this was a bad book. I absolutely cannot recommend it. It's a very surface-level story of a nanny, highly recommended, who comes to work for a well-off family because the mother wants to go back to work after years as a stay at home mom. There are a couple of off-putting incidences - the nanny puts a full face of makeup on her 4 year old charge, and when the dad is angry she just glares at him and refuses to apologize or even say a word in her defense - and then she murders the children.
We never really get an inside look at any of these characters. The mom wants to go back to work, that's all we know. The husband doesn't care, if she thinks work will make her happy. They both do well at their jobs. We get some hints about the nanny having a mental illness history, but no insight into what's wrong with her.
I didn't care about any of these characters, or feel any way about them at all really. The nanny seemed a bit strange, maybe, but I didn't dislike her or find her creepy. I also didn't like her. Everyone was just neutral, and uninteresting, and even the murders aren't interesting - we learn about the murders in the opening chapter of the book, and then at the end we jump to a time past the murders, when a cop is investigating why they happened. That's it. No explanation for what happened, just... neutral storytelling about some events that happened.
Can't recommend. Not worth the time.
But man, this was a bad book. I absolutely cannot recommend it. It's a very surface-level story of a nanny, highly recommended, who comes to work for a well-off family because the mother wants to go back to work after years as a stay at home mom. There are a couple of off-putting incidences - the nanny puts a full face of makeup on her 4 year old charge, and when the dad is angry she just glares at him and refuses to apologize or even say a word in her defense - and then she murders the children.
We never really get an inside look at any of these characters. The mom wants to go back to work, that's all we know. The husband doesn't care, if she thinks work will make her happy. They both do well at their jobs. We get some hints about the nanny having a mental illness history, but no insight into what's wrong with her.
I didn't care about any of these characters, or feel any way about them at all really. The nanny seemed a bit strange, maybe, but I didn't dislike her or find her creepy. I also didn't like her. Everyone was just neutral, and uninteresting, and even the murders aren't interesting - we learn about the murders in the opening chapter of the book, and then at the end we jump to a time past the murders, when a cop is investigating why they happened. That's it. No explanation for what happened, just... neutral storytelling about some events that happened.
Can't recommend. Not worth the time.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Veryyyyy different to what i normally read, i picked it up because i wanted something short to read while i was waiting for my next book in a series. The tagline of the baby being killed drew me in as i thought the way the crime would unravel would be interesting, and it was. The journey through Louise's life, her state of mind, is completely disturbing. I felt quite uneasy all the way through reading the book but in a way which gripped me and made me want to carry on to see what was gonna be next.
First thriller ive read in ages and am happy i did decide on this story. It felt like a weirdly refreshing mini break in-between my romance/fantasy as it was just the right amount of entirely different.
First thriller ive read in ages and am happy i did decide on this story. It felt like a weirdly refreshing mini break in-between my romance/fantasy as it was just the right amount of entirely different.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The parallels in mood of Slimani's Lullaby to Gone Girl were striking. Surprising, given the divergence of the two stories in plot.
I enjoy Slimani's building of tension throughout the book, despite the first line's spoiler. A couple of times I thought this would slip from human morbidity into elements of supernatural horror. I actually wanted it to go there if I'm honest.
Nonetheless, a candid portrait of the strains modern society puts upon women, mothers, and immigrants.
I enjoy Slimani's building of tension throughout the book, despite the first line's spoiler. A couple of times I thought this would slip from human morbidity into elements of supernatural horror. I actually wanted it to go there if I'm honest.
Nonetheless, a candid portrait of the strains modern society puts upon women, mothers, and immigrants.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
LOVE THE CONCEPT!! SO DISTURBING but writing felt quite bland (the sentences were truncated and lumped together in a way that just didn’t do it for me)
THE PART WHEN SHE PAINTED THE GIRLS FACE WITH MAKEUP AND THE HUSBANDS REACTION AND THE CHICKEN CARCASS ROTTING ON THE KITCHEN BENCH OH MY GOLLY
THE PART WHEN SHE PAINTED THE GIRLS FACE WITH MAKEUP AND THE HUSBANDS REACTION AND THE CHICKEN CARCASS ROTTING ON THE KITCHEN BENCH OH MY GOLLY
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes