The Perfect Nanny would not exist if Myriam and Paul Massé had just bought themselves some nanny cams from the French Home Depot.
I’m serious, though I didn’t have this realization until I was more than halfway done with the book. If these parents had been a little more invested in their children’s safety, so much could have been revealed, and therefore so much could have been prevented.
But, that’s part of the problem in this book, isn’t it? The attitude of the parents. The obsession of the nanny. Both sides of this story work together to create the victims — the two innocent children who are gruesomely murdered by their doting nanny.
How do you not see a monster in your midst? This question comes up all too often, what with stories of spouses not knowing what their other halves are truly capable of — money laundering, tax evasion, and, in the more severe and unsettling cases, secret polygamy, rape, and murder. Books like You Should Have Known and Our House come immediately to mind.
However, this theme is less frequently applied to a relationship involving children, probably because the negative outcome is too hard to contemplate. The Perfect Nanny more than contemplates this possibility — it delves immediately into it, beginning the novel with the vivid aftermath of a nanny’s fatal attack on her two young charges. It’s a great hook — guttural, emotional, and filled with anguish. You just have to find out about this horrible nanny who, clearly, must not have been, could not have been anything but a complete psycho from the very beginning.
The premise for hiring a nanny in general is completely understandable. Author Leila Slimani gives the reader a nice look into Parisian life, which, I was somewhat surprised to discover, is not all that dissimilar from American life. Two young parents both want to pursue their demanding careers, and they need someone to take care of their children. Daycares are not a feasible option, and one parent staying at home isn’t, either.
So, after numerous interviews, they hire their nanny, Louise. Although her duties are at first relegated only to the children, she soon becomes enmeshed in family life, to the point where parents Myriam and Paul can’t imagine living their lives without her. And, that’s where the trouble begins.
You really want to give Louise the benefit of the doubt as you discover more about her. Keep in mind, this novel isn’t a whodunit; it’s never in question that she is a murderer. But, as you are introduced to the children, Mila and Adam, and witness the dynamic between them, their parents, and Louise — the seemingly “perfect nanny” — you find yourself forgetting the heinous crime Louise commits in the very first pages. The nanny tugs at your sympathy, with her slight, sickly figure, her difficult past, and her lonely present, and you want so much for her just to be “misunderstood” instead of psychotic.
Let’s talk about Myriam and Paul for a minute. As I said earlier, they are certainly not without their faults. While it’s easy to classify them as “negligent parents,” I sympathize with them. I do. I don’t have children, but many of my friends do, and I see just how hard it is to have kids and work full-time. It’s a difficult, demanding life that leaves little time for oneself, let alone the tiny humans you are trying to raise. I don’t begrudge Myriam and Paul for hiring a nanny and letting that nanny’s role become a little more prominent in their lives. After all, if Louise weren’t crazy, her involvement might have been fine.
What I do fault Myriam and Paul for is ignoring the signs. There are so many signs that Louise is clearly unbalanced — instances in which she appears “off,” at best, and downright insane in others. The reader is privy to many more of Louise’s oddities because of the narration, but several important incidents occur in full view of the parents.
However, Myriam and Paul ultimately choose to overlook Louise’s increasingly disturbing behavior, mainly to uphold the convenience of their lifestyle. They don’t want their routine ruined, their lives upturned — and they pay the price for this with their children’s lives. While Myriam and Paul are aware that their nanny has become indispensable to them, they are completely ignorant of the fact that that she has become obsessed with them and with being part of their family. Although Louise is clearly insane, I think the parents are as much to blame as Louise is for how their children ended up.
The Perfect Nanny is a deeply unsettling cautionary tale about letting strangers into your home, about trusting people against your better instincts, and, ultimately, about becoming complacent in your own life.
It’s also a great argument for installing nanny cams in your home.
Once you’ve finished the book – which ends surprisingly calmly, given the atrocities that were committed – go back and re-read the opening chapter. Experience again the passages describing how the children’s bodies were found, and how the little girl must have struggled against her attacker. Take in once more how Myriam reacted when she walked in to find her children brutally murdered, after leaving work early to spend time with them.
And, knowing all that you now know about Louise, ask yourself — would you have done anything differently from Myriam and Paul, had you seen the warning signs they did about the woman taking care of their children?
*dramatic pause*
Stay tuned for my book-inspired recipe: Moroccan Chicken B’stilla Pie!
I liked this book, but agree with you that if the parents were paying attention, they could have noticed things were not right much earlier. I was surprised to see this on the New York Times 10 best of 2018 list! It was good, but not sure I would have called it one of the 10 best.
This book sounds amazing. I am completely intrigued. I just went to add the title to my Goodreads, and holy recognition from everyone too. I love books that analyze family and the core of who/what we are and aren’t. In modern times, I feel like a book like this (without having read it) plays into our biggest fears. It seems like a trust no one world, take all the precautions, and then miss what is right in front of you. Creepy creepy!
The book was definitely intriguing; the questions it makes you ask yourself are so thought-provoking. You also look a bit askance at everyone in your life after you read it, lol. Like, “Who are you REALLY?? Can I trust you???” 😉