Date of Completion: 17/01/2020
The cover of Lullaby is very striking but simple, with an image of a dress not dissimilar to the one which many of us were forced to wear as children. The quote on the cover catches the eye immediately, causing intrigue as to what the book is about – at least it did for me.
The baby is dead. It took only a few seconds.
Despite my average rating, I actually really enjoyed reading Lullaby. I read this book at a time when I had just gotten back into reading as an adult. The storyline was well developed, though strange and unnerving. The plot and the pacing of the story were very good. All these are a credit to Leїla’s writing style which is very descriptive and vivid. She paints a clear picture of not just the characters, but their homes and the times in which the story is set.
Myriam sees the blonde hair, tied up in bun at the back of her neck; she recognised Louise’s inimitable gait, agile and trembling
Lullaby begins at the end of the story and so the reader is taken on a journey to understand how we got to that beginning moment. I enjoyed the fact that it was a slow burn and the alternating viewpoints we got through the constant switching of characters. This meant that the reader built up a well-rounded view of the events unfolding in the book.
Unfortunately, Lullaby seemed to be building up to a moment that never came. Of course, you could argue that the translation is to blame and maybe the translation just failed to do the full story justice.
However, it just seemed like some of my questions were never answered and a chunk of the story was just not there. We never seem to fully understand the why of Louise’s murder. I remember finishing the book and running straight to google/goodreads, thinking this simply cannot be the end.
Whilst this book starts off by captivating the reader, the ending left more to be desired. We never truly get to understand Louise, hence 3 stars.
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