52 pages • 1 hour read
The Perfect Nanny
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Summary and Study Guide
Overview
The Perfect Nanny is a thriller written by Franco-Moroccan journalist and author Leïla Slimani. Published in 2016, the novel is inspired by the 2012 murders of two white American children in New York City by their caretaker, a naturalized American citizen born in the Dominican Republic. Slimani resets the narrative in Paris, France, and the nanny she depicts is a native French woman and white. Slimani reframes the crime to explore themes of racism, classicism, and sexism in relation to motherhood and caregivers. The Perfect Nanny won the Prix Goncourt, France's top literary accolade. This study guide refers to the 2018 Sam Taylor translation, published by Penguin Books. The original French title is Chanson Douce (2016).
Content Warning: The Perfect Nanny depicts violence (murder/infanticide), spousal abuse, and child abuse. Themes of racism, sexism, and classism are prevalent.
Plot Summary
The Perfect Nanny is related by an omniscient third-person narrator. It opens with a shocking scene of a nanny, Louise, killing the two children in her care, Adam and Mila. Most of the remainder of the book is a flashback, going back to a year before the murder and following the events that lead to it.
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