The Perfect Nanny, Leila Slimani

   This book was among many from a pile of books that were international NY Times Bestsellers for 2018. It's also a winner of a Prix Goncourt prize, whatever that is. I do believe it's a translation. So, it's another effort to get into contemporary literature. "Insanely good," is stamped at the top of the cover from Kate Hamer. I guess so. Insane is perhaps a good word, but the word good and insane in this case do not go together.

   I almost wish I hadn't read this book. I don't know what I was expecting. The perfect nanny is perfect except for the fact that she kills the children in her care. This is shown in the beginning. Slowly, we're shown the severe issues that built up Louise, the main character. A bad childhood, a bad marriage, a bad child, a bad set of debts and debtors, and a bad job, all somehow end in a wasted woman doing something terrible.

   When I say I wish I hadn't read the book, it's for this reason: I just felt queasy, uneasy, and very uncomfortable from beginning to end. Almost like I was going to take a bath in someone else's cold bathwater. That feeling never goes away. The tension doesn't snap at the end as it seems to lose its elasticity.

   Imagine Mary Poppins: the perfect nanny. Then, she falls apart and kills the Banks' kids. But, you see that in the opening scene of the movie. You know that after all the magic and the fun and dancing and singing and walks in magical places and pigeons, that Mary Poppins has already been seen killing these kids and you know that you will get to revisit the killing in gorier details at the end. That's what this book is like. Enjoy.