For our next Book Club edition, Coucou is diving into one of the most powerful and unsettling novels in contemporary French literature: Chanson Douce by Leïla Slimani: winner of the Prix Goncourt 2016.

Over four sessions, we'll read, discuss, and dissect this novel together: from the illusion of the perfect employee to the invisible violence of class, isolation, and mutual dependency.

Not sure if this is your level? Take our placement test here to find out.

About the author

Born in Rabat and a graduate of Sciences Po, Leïla Slimani is one of the most striking voices of her generation. Her writing is precise, unflinching, and deeply attuned to the fault lines of modern society: class, power, the condition of women, and the quiet violence that hides behind closed doors.

About the book

Myriam and Paul, an active Parisian couple, hire Louise as a nanny to take care of their two young children.
Quickly, Louise becomes indispensable to the household, integrating to the point of merging with the family and isolating herself in this toxic relationship.
Beneath her appearance of a rare gem, Louise hides a deep psychological distress, financial misery, and total isolation.
The story shifts tragically from the very first pages with the murder of the children by the nanny, transforming the narrative into an autopsy of this tragedy.

📖 Please read the book before the first session!

• Chanson douce by Leïla Slimani

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Session 1 - Saturday, November 14th

The Illusion of the "Rare Gem"

The choice of childcare and parental guilt, the condition of domestic workers, and Slimani's bold stylistic choice to open with the tragedy itself.

Session 2 - Saturday, November 21st

The Spiral of Control and Enmeshment

The porous boundary between private and professional life, the trap of mutual dependency, and the early clues of Louise's psychological unraveling.

Session 3 - Saturday, December 5th

Invisible Violence and Isolation

Class violence, the alienation of motherhood, and the role of Paris itself as an amplifier of loneliness and distress.

Session 4 - Saturday, December 12th

The Precipice

The verdict and collective responsibility: is Louise a monster, or a product of our society? A final discussion on the book's literary genre and the lasting mark it leaves on us.