"Lullaby"

“Lullaby”

Written by Leila Slimani

Review written by Diana Iozzia

As I began to read “Lullaby”, I was drawn in by the first chapter. We instantly know that the child, Adam, is dead, and Lila is dying. Then, we jump back to before our main characters have met this perfect nanny, who has seemingly killed the children and then herself. We meet Myriam and her husband. 

The story is mainly told through a third person omniscient narration, primarily focusing on Myriam. Myriam is a frazzled and bedraggled mother, who is not very happy with her life and her current situation. She decides to go back to work, but to do so, she wants to find “the perfect nanny” to take care of her children.

In comes Louise, who is slightly suspicious and strange. She’s a bit rough with the children, she can say inappropriate things, and she is often just a little eerie. We readers start to wonder if she is not who she says she is, but we also have the knowledge that she might eventually snap and kill the children.

The book is not so much of a whirlwind, but a carefully concocted plot. We still have shocking moments and surprises along the way, but I was quite disappointed in the ending. I am absolutely not so sure of what I have read, and I think this might call for a re-read. I do not understand how we truly jumped from a slightly strange nanny to a cold child killer. I cannot link the connection. 

I enjoyed this book, but the ending left me empty. I’m not so sure about how I feel about it, because it feels like a large chunk of the book was ripped out. I feel like the lack of a cohesive ending was not ambiguous, paying off in a great mystery. Rather, I feel the book had crashed and burned, leaving us with too many questions.