Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Search - The Perfect Nanny

The Perfect Nanny
The Perfect Nanny
Author: Leila Slimani, Sam Taylor (Translator)
When Myriam, a French-Moroccan lawyer, decides to return to work after having children, she and her husband look for the perfect nanny for their two young children. They never dreamed they would find Louise: a quiet, polite, devoted woman who sings to the children, cleans the family's chic apartment in Paris's upscale tenth arrondissemen...  more »
Info icon
ISBN-13: 9780143132172
ISBN-10: 0143132172
Publication Date: 1/9/2018
Pages: 240
Rating:
  • Currently 2.8/5 Stars.
 32

2.8 stars, based on 32 ratings
Publisher: Penguin Books
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The Perfect Nanny on + 15 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I agree with the other posted review that the first 3 pages were the best part of the book. I'm thinking the problem with the flow of this book was the translation. Since it was translated from French (I believe), I think some of the dynamic was lost in the translation. The ending provided no closure and I didn't really "get" why Louise did what she did. Nor was there closure on any front with anyone in the book. I'm just glad I didn't pay for the book and it was just a trade!
alterlisa avatar reviewed The Perfect Nanny on + 335 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
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 toliet 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 though about being a grandparent, getting to do these things again----and then sending them home to their Mom.
tbowman avatar reviewed The Perfect Nanny on + 59 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I think I can kind of explain why Louise, the perfect nanny, does what she does. She becomes involved completely in the lives of the parents Myriam and Paul, and the children Mila and Adam. So much so, that when the family is away at the in-laws, Louise stays at their house, eats their food and cleans up their messes. As the children grow a little older, Louise realizes that they will go to school and she will not be needed as much, if at all. Refusing to change her focus, she believes she can "encourage" the couple to have another child, but when she realizes the family will not be having any other children, she falls out of love with the family.

I do question if the reader is supposed to sympathize with Louise in anyway? She has many chances to explain her financial situation to Myriam and Paul, yet never comes clean. We witness how others see her, but know they're missing the real picture of The Perfect Nanny.
Read All 6 Book Reviews of "The Perfect Nanny"

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

berd avatar reviewed The Perfect Nanny on + 214 more book reviews
Like the other reviewers stated, I also feel that the first few pages were the best part of the book. Beyond that, it fell flat for me.

If it was truly meant to be a thriller, it missed the mark. In fact, most of the book made me cringe. Very early on, you know the nanny will ultimately kill the children, so it lacks the suspense of what will happen in the end. I really don't know why I finished it because I felt detached from the characters. It is a fairly quick read and shouldn't take long to zip through for most people, and for that I'm thankful that I could finish it and move on to something better.

Perhaps those of you with children might feel a bit different about it than I did, but I feel like you probably don't want to read this if you are a parent. It will most likely make you distrust anyone around your children. I am not a parent so I can only speculate. It's definitely not a "feel good" type of book. It's fairly depressing, slow moving, and mostly a flop. And the end just left me feeling like there was no official closure. Maybe that was intentional, but if a sequel is coming, I won't read it.
reviewed The Perfect Nanny on + 344 more book reviews
Not my style. A story about a Nanny who uses the kids she cares for to give her life meaning, but in the end it destroys her.


Genres: