Review For THE PERFECT NANNY by Leila Slimani-3 *

Title: The Perfect Nanny

Author:  Leila Slimani

Genre:  Psychological Thriller

Rating: ***

Publishers: Penguin Books 

(January 9, 2018)

Paperback: 240 pages

ISBN: 978-0143132172

FTC Disclosure: Library book

She has the keys to their apartment. She knows everything. She has embedded herself so deeply in their lives that it now seems impossible to remove her.
When Myriam decides to return to work as a lawyer after having children, she and her husband look for the perfect nanny for their son and daughter. They never dreamed they would find Louise: a quiet, polite, devoted woman who sings to the children, cleans the family’s chic Paris apartment, stays late without complaint, and hosts enviable kiddie parties. But as the couple and the nanny become more dependent on one another, jealousy, resentment, and suspicions mount, shattering the idyllic tableau. Building tension with every page, The Perfect Nanny is a compulsive, riveting, bravely observed exploration of power, class, race, domesticity, motherhood, and madness—and the American debut of an immensely talented writer.

The #1 international bestseller and winner of France’s most prestigious literary prize, the Goncourt, by the author of Adèle

Anyone who is a parent should never, ever read this, cause you will never be comfortable with leaving your little ones with anyone ever again, not a nanny, a baby sitter, heck probably not even a grandparent. Let's face it, the title alone- "THE PERFECT NANNY" scares the crap out of you! Unfortunately, that's about the thrillingest (is that even a word?) part of the whole book.
That said, I don't see the French "GONE GIRL" you are promised or even the gripping thriller part. Yes, there is  a psychological downspin but that's about it. I love psychological thrillers and this one doesn't even come close. It was an okay story but that's about it. It definitely won't blow you away but it will make you think.
The book starts off pretty good. I got to admit the first three pages for me were a great hook and the best part.  I was fully convinced that we would learn that the Mom, not the Nanny was the killer. ( I just wanted that great psychological twist that I've come to expect.) However, after the great beginning, I thought it went flat pretty fast. I kept reading till the end, not cause I felt like I must, to see what happened next but because it was a short book. We were doing it for book club and I really hate not to finish a book. Overall, I think the book suffered from too much hype but that is the way of things today. I really didn't like the ending. Maybe we are being set up for a sequel but if so, not one I'll be reading.
I did feel like the author did a great job of nailing the guilt that a working parent, especially a Mom feels and yes as a Mom who worked long hours when my kids were growing up, I speak from experience. I can remember days when I wished I was anywhere else other than in the midst of motherhood. The days of homework not done, toys not picked up, endless laundry, and never feeling like you had a minute alone or got a good nights sleep.  Just wanting to go to the bathroom and sit on the toilet undisturbed for 5 minutes took on a nirvana type fantasy. But I also remember a great husband who saw this and made sure I got a mini vacation with my girlfriends (also Moms). Once a year we went to the beach,  recharged our batteries and totally didn't give a damn if there were clean towels or toilet paper on the roll. We went to bed when we wanted, got up when we wanted, ate what we wanted and had adult beverages all day long if we wanted for 3 or 4 days. It allowed us to return to the fold and pull on that mantle of working Mom  and do an excellent job for another year and hold our heads up cause we could have it all! And despite all of it, once they leave for college and get married, you will miss a lot of the little things you did with them. That's one of the truly great things  about being a grandparent, getting to do these things again----and then sending them home to their Mom.

Leïla Slimani is a French writer and journalist of Moroccan ancestry. In 2016 she was awarded the Prix Goncourt for her novel Chanson douce.


Slimani was born in Rabat, Morocco and studied later political science and media studies in Paris. After that she temporarily considered a career as an actress and began to work as a journalist for the magazine Jeune Afrique. In 2014 she published her first novel Dans le jardin de l’ogre, which two years later was followed by the psychological thriller Chanson douce. The latter quickly turned into a bestseller with over 450,000 copies printed within a year even before the book was awarded the Prix Goncourt.