Scan barcode
sabrina_the_alien's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Minor: Vomit
fedelikeslego's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
È stato bello leggerlo, ma speravo in qualcosa di più nel finale. Un climax per poi arrivare al niente. L’autrice si è basata su un fatto vero di cronaca però speravo in qualcosa di più che un libro che risultata essere esclusivamente di cronaca. Do 3 perché è comunque intrigante, forse sono state le varie recensioni che ho letto a definirlo con un genere sbagliato, perché appunto più che mistero e thriller risulta essere una cronaca. L’avessi letto con quell’idea l’avrei apprezzato di più.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, and Vomit
Minor: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Rape
the_literarylinguist's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer and Eating disorder
lani's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, and Murder
nicoleh's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Blood
salomongirl77's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Blood, and Murder
writtenontheflyleaves's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Lullaby by Leïla Slimani 🔪
🌟🌟🌟
-
I finished this one before work this morning - overall a quick and engaging read but not one that fully captivated me!
-
🔪 The plot: Louise has always seemed like the perfect nanny. She is quiet and efficient and transforms the lives of the families she works for for the better - until the day that she snaps and brutally murders the two children in her care. The novel assembles a fractured picture of the events leading up to the murders; of Louise herself, her employers, and the people drifting on the outskirts of the tragedy, trying to understand what happened.
-
I’m usually a big fan of a mystery told backwards. It’s fun to know the destination but have no idea how you got there, and Lullaby is exceptional in its unravelling of the psychological webs that are woven between the characters. But what undoes this story for me is its ending. It took me by surprise how quickly it seemed to wrap up, and although I love some poignant ambiguity at the end of my novels, I don’t feel like the reader gets a satisfying answer for what drives Louise to such an atrocity. My lasting impression is of a sort of amorphous bleakness - it’s moving in its own way, but not especially satisfying.
-
That said, there were lots of things I thought were masterful here. Slimani is completely unflinching in her portrayal of the power dynamics between employer and employee: the parents’ simultaneous admiration of Louise and their bourgeois disdain for her. There’s something sickening about all of the characters, but they all provoke pathos too, which is a really engaging thing for a thriller like this to do.
-
👩👧👦 Read it if you like character-driven novels that are a bit on the dark side, and aren’t averse to some real open endings.
-
🚫 Avoid it if you like your thrillers to be pacey and have a killer ending (no pun intended).
🌟🌟🌟
-
I finished this one before work this morning - overall a quick and engaging read but not one that fully captivated me!
-
🔪 The plot: Louise has always seemed like the perfect nanny. She is quiet and efficient and transforms the lives of the families she works for for the better - until the day that she snaps and brutally murders the two children in her care. The novel assembles a fractured picture of the events leading up to the murders; of Louise herself, her employers, and the people drifting on the outskirts of the tragedy, trying to understand what happened.
-
I’m usually a big fan of a mystery told backwards. It’s fun to know the destination but have no idea how you got there, and Lullaby is exceptional in its unravelling of the psychological webs that are woven between the characters. But what undoes this story for me is its ending. It took me by surprise how quickly it seemed to wrap up, and although I love some poignant ambiguity at the end of my novels, I don’t feel like the reader gets a satisfying answer for what drives Louise to such an atrocity. My lasting impression is of a sort of amorphous bleakness - it’s moving in its own way, but not especially satisfying.
-
That said, there were lots of things I thought were masterful here. Slimani is completely unflinching in her portrayal of the power dynamics between employer and employee: the parents’ simultaneous admiration of Louise and their bourgeois disdain for her. There’s something sickening about all of the characters, but they all provoke pathos too, which is a really engaging thing for a thriller like this to do.
-
👩👧👦 Read it if you like character-driven novels that are a bit on the dark side, and aren’t averse to some real open endings.
-
🚫 Avoid it if you like your thrillers to be pacey and have a killer ending (no pun intended).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Violence
Moderate: Mental illness, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, and Suicide
angelicathebookworm's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The novel has a compelling premise and a hooking opening. It's also very well written and is layered with an incredible amount of detailed subtext all of which I enjoyed. Slimani has also done a great job of evoking the right emotions throughout the text and in a way that’s not overly dramatic. I also enjoyed seeing the theme of societal division of work which appeared in the novel as well as reading about Moroccan immigrants in France as it’s not something I’ve read much about before, particularly in thrillers. There is also some intriguing social commentary embedded within the text and also some subtle explorations of racial tensions within France. The disturbing character of the nanny, Louise, is inspired by the real-life story of the murder of the Krim siblings which I discovered after reading and found this fact really fascinating. Slimani really does a great job in the portrayal of the character of Louise throughout the narrative which is a huge positive point as the novel is character-driven as opposed to being driven by plot.
It’s important to keep in mind that this novel is a translation so there is always the possibility that the novel could be read quite differently if you were to read it in French. I haven’t read much translated fiction yet but I did think this one was done well although it did read slightly clunky in places. I didn’t find the novel particularly thrilling or suspenseful as I was expecting, considering it’s described as a thriller, but rather quite eerie and slightly unnerving so overall I felt a little underwhelmed. That being said, it is more of a domestic thriller and so the more subtle eerie atmosphere created is somewhat realistic. Additionally, I did find the pacing to be quite slow and the majority of the other characters quite unremarkable which isn’t much of a surprise seeing as the novel centres mostly around daily life and the interactions between the various characters. I would also like to add here that we, the readers, are also left to draw many of our own conclusions at the end of narrative which isn’t so much a personal criticism but rather something worth pointing out to potential readers as it can be more of a specific preference.
For more reviews like this one, check out https://angelicacastilloking.wordpress.com/
It’s important to keep in mind that this novel is a translation so there is always the possibility that the novel could be read quite differently if you were to read it in French. I haven’t read much translated fiction yet but I did think this one was done well although it did read slightly clunky in places. I didn’t find the novel particularly thrilling or suspenseful as I was expecting, considering it’s described as a thriller, but rather quite eerie and slightly unnerving so overall I felt a little underwhelmed. That being said, it is more of a domestic thriller and so the more subtle eerie atmosphere created is somewhat realistic. Additionally, I did find the pacing to be quite slow and the majority of the other characters quite unremarkable which isn’t much of a surprise seeing as the novel centres mostly around daily life and the interactions between the various characters. I would also like to add here that we, the readers, are also left to draw many of our own conclusions at the end of narrative which isn’t so much a personal criticism but rather something worth pointing out to potential readers as it can be more of a specific preference.
For more reviews like this one, check out https://angelicacastilloking.wordpress.com/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror and Blood