Chanson douce (2016)

Published in English as Lullaby or The Perfect Nanny, Slimani's novel begins with the catastrophe rather than hiding it as a final surprise. A Paris couple employ Louise so that Myriam can return to work, then become dependent on a person they scarcely understand outside her usefulness to them. Sam Taylor's translation carries a cold examination of paid intimacy, class and resentment. Child death makes this exceptionally distressing; its purpose is to expose the arrangement beneath the apparently effortless home.