Lullaby (Slimani novel)

Lullaby (known as The Perfect Nanny in the United States; original French title Chanson douce) is a 2016 novel by French author Leïla Slimani.

Lullaby
Collection Blanche cover (first edition)
AuthorLeïla Slimani
Audio read byClotilde Courau (French)[1]
Finty Williams (English)[2]
Original titleChanson douce
TranslatorSam Taylor
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
SeriesCollection Blanche
Set in10th arrondissement of Paris[3]
PublisherÉditions Gallimard
Publication date
18 August 2016[4]
Published in English
9 January 2018[5]
Media typePrint (paperback)
Pages240[4]
AwardsPrix Goncourt (2016)
ISBN978-2-07-019667-8 [4]
843/.92
LC ClassPQ2719.L56 C43 2016

Background

Lullaby is Slimani's second novel[6] and the first to be translated into English.[7] By January 2018 it had been translated into 18 languages, with intentions for a further 17.[6][8] Originally titled Chanson douce, it was translated as Lullaby for the UK and The Perfect Nanny in the US.[6]

It sold 600,000 copies in France in its first year of publication.[6]

Plot

The book deals with the murder of two children by their nanny.[8] It was inspired by the real-life 2012 murder of children by their nanny in New York.[6][9]

Critical reception

Lullaby was described by Aida Edemariam (writing in The Guardian) as "stylishly written [...] brilliantly executed".[7] It was compared to Gone Girl by both Celia Walden of The Telegraph,[9] and Lucy Scholes of The Independent, with the latter describing it as "a psychological thriller that will have readers on the edge of their seats".[10]

Awards

The novel won the 2016 Prix Goncourt, a top French literary award.[11]

Publication history
  • Chanson douce. France: Éditions Gallimard. 18 August 2016. ISBN 978-2-07-019667-8. 240 pages.[4]
  • Lullaby. United Kingdom: Faber and Faber. 11 January 2018. ISBN 978-0571337538. 224 pages.[12]
  • The Perfect Nanny. United States: Penguin Books. 9 January 2018. ISBN 978-0143132172. 240 pages.[5]

References
  1. "Chanson douce - Écoutez lire". Éditions Gallimard.
  2. "The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani". Penguin Random House Audio.
  3. Weiss-Meyer, Amy (30 January 2018). "The Eerie Horrors of The Perfect Nanny". The Atlantic.
  4. "Chanson douce - Blanche". Éditions Gallimard.
  5. "The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani". Penguin Random House.
  6. Lauren Collins (1 January 2018). "LThe Killer-Nanny Novel That Conquered France". The New Yorker. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  7. Aida Edemariam (10 January 2018). "Lullaby by Leïla Slimani review – brilliantly unsettling". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  8. Eva Wiseman (28 January 2018). "Lullaby, the book of the moment, is a wake-up call for us all". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  9. Celia Walden (6 December 2016). "Is Chanson Douce the next Gone Girl? This author's book on a killer nanny is next year's must-read". The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  10. Lucy Scholes (10 January 2018). "Lullaby by Leïla Slimani, book review: A chilling, horror-filled read, for sure". The Independent. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  11. Romain Jeanticou (3 November 2016). "Goncourt 2016 : Leïla Slimani primée pour "Chanson douce"" (in French). Telerama. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  12. "Lullaby". Faber & Faber.
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