Tag Archives: Family Life

Review: The Perfect Nanny

The Perfect Nanny

The Perfect Nanny
By Leila Slimani, Sam Taylor (Translated by)
Penguin Books, 9780143132172, 2018, 240pp.

The Short of It:

This is a one-sitting read.

The Rest of It:

Myriam is offered a job at a law office, doing what she loves and misses, but what about her two young children? After having her son, she pretty much removed the topic of work from the conversation but the everyday routine of kids, house, errands, with little mental stimulation if any, begins to tear at her sanity. While talking to her husband about the opportunity, the possibility of a nanny comes up. Could that work?

No. It couldn’t possibly work. Who would be able to spend all that time with the children, raise them well, AND take care of all the other stuff too? Louise, that’s who. Louise is perfect. She’s tidy, a natural organizer, efficient, reliable to a fault, and she does what many do not. She plays with the children. She gets them. Understands their wants and moods and more importantly, she understands their parents too. She is the envy of all the other families at the park because she is too good to be true.

Let that sink in. Too good to be true.

As perfect as Louise is, everyone has a breaking point and Louise’s is very subtle at first. Her backstory gives you just enough to know that Louise wasn’t always perfect and things were not always storybook worthy. This little bit of info is enough to have you flipping the pages because from the very first line, you learn that things go terribly wrong.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I did not expect to be sucked into the story so quickly but that opening line! I was supposed to be reading this with a friend but once I started, I just kept going. All that said, the ending was a bit of a shock. I seriously need to talk to someone who has read it.

If you need a book to escape into, this is it. Another blogger just pointed out to me that this is based on a 2012 case. REAL events. Wow.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Sunday Matters: Making a List and Checking It Twice

Sunday Matters

This past week was a good one. The 39 Steps wrapped last night and let me tell you, it was the most hysterical show. I laughed until I cried and then I laughed some more. I believe this was The Teen’s first non-musical performance and it was a lot of fun. He played a bunch of roles but his main role was Mr. Memory.

Mr. Memory
The 39 Steps

 

It rained in California! Yes, it did and there was even a tornado, flooding and mud slides but it moved through quickly and the air is so nice and clean. Another storm is expected for Monday. Bring it on.

I’ve gotten to the point where I need to do my shopping and it needs to be done today. I can’t put it off anymore. We are heading into the last week of school for the kids and my last week at work. Joy! But, that pesky shopping. Tsk. I am sitting down right now looking over my list to make sure I know what the plan is.

Right Now:

Trying to decide if we will attend church or not. Today is a special  service where they turn it over to the kids. It could be fun but The Girl is not in that age range and The Hub, not sure he has the patience for it. I may watch it online. Hmmm. Still thinking about it.

This Week:

Nothing much going on. The Teen has his choir Christmas party, finals and I think he has a choir performance too but that is for a private party and doesn’t involve us. The Girl has a class bunco party and me? Nothing. Well, except for work.

Reading:

Hoping to finish The Rosie Effect. I got sidetracked by King’s short story, A Good Marriage. I had the library book for no less than four renewals and finally sat down to read it. It was a good story. Haven’t seen the movie but I honestly don’t feel I need to. I got what I needed from the story.

Next up, Murakami’s The Strange Library and I am ending the year with it.

Watching:

Chritmas movies. I gotta start watching them now. I am really in the mood for The Family Stone.

Making:

Nothing, right now. I haven’t a lick of food in the house. I really need to hit the market but Chinese take-out sounds good too.

Grateful for:

Today, I am grateful for my little Otter Pup. She has been with us for nearly five years now and is the most delightful little pup. She’s sweet, a bad ass when she needs to be, hopelessly devoted, and funny as hell with all of her antics. People always ask what she is, but I have no idea. We rescued her from the shelter when she was about five months old. She’s some sort of terrier mix but the rest, who knows? She’s only 7 lbs but she secretly thinks she is a much larger dog.

The Otter Pup

Happy Thought For the Week:

One. More. Week.

What are your plans for today? Any special holiday events?