I found this little present on my desk on the morning I returned to work after two weeks off. My colleague and I spoke about this book before I went on leave and she said she really liked it.
I was so so excited to read it! I was struggling my way through Sharp Objects and it was the first time I had to put a book aside and “technically” read two books at once. (Only a few pages though, I really struggle with remembering all the characters in one book, let alone two haha!)
Unfortunately the hype didn’t live up to my expectations.
I think some of the book went over my head because I’m not a mother and can’t even begin to imagine what a parent would feel like in a situation like this.
Lullaby was basically written backwards. There really isn’t any spoilers in confirming that the kids die in the first page of the book. Horrific, absolutely, and painful to read, but I feel like it affects parents so much more..
Some of the book was lost in translation. No doubt it reads much better in French than it does in any other language. Like sometimes when I try to translate something, say a joke, to English- the point stays but makes so much more sense and is a lot funnier in Estonian, know what I mean? The same could be said for describing something tragic..
I think the author described the mental state of Louise, the nanny, throughout the years and her rapid deterioration pretty well. How can one go from loving the kids to the moon and back to being capable of such heinous act..
But the book is full of a lot of unfinished business! Like what happened to Louise once she was charged? What happened at the trial? Did Paul and Myriam’s marriage survive and were they able to rebuild their lives? What happened to Louise’s daughter? Who were everyone else in the book?!……
In summary it needed a bit more time to tie the loose ends and give a little insight into the lives after the murders. I just felt like the book ended half way through.
With regret, it was a weak 3 out of 5 stars for me.
