Scan barcode
eemil's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Self harm, Sexual content, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Classism
honeymoan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
pipss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child death and Physical abuse
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Grief
mandi4886's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Xenophobia, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
rakizaka's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Fatphobia, Sexism, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Racial slurs, Sexual content, and Medical content
writtenontheflyleaves's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
🌟🌟🌟
-
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).
Graphic: Child death and Violence
Moderate: Mental illness, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, and Suicide