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A Novel
by Amanda Bestor-Siegal
Book Reviewed by:Set in a wealthy Parisian suburb, an emotionally riveting debut told from the point of view of six women, and centered around a group of au pairs, one of whom is arrested after a sudden and suspicious tragedy strikes her host family - a dramatic exploration of identity, class, and caregiving from a profoundly talented new writer.
Paris, 2015. A crowd gathers outside the Chauvet home in the affluent suburban community of Maisons-Larue, watching as the family's American au pair is led away in handcuffs after the sudden death of her young charge. The grieving mother believes the caretaker is to blame, and the neighborhood is thrown into chaos, unsure who is at fault—the enigmatic, young foreigner or the mother herself, who has never seemed an active participant in the lives of her children.
The truth lies with six women: Géraldine, a heartbroken French teacher struggling to support her vulnerable young students; Lou, an incompetent au pair who was recently fired by the family next door; Charlotte, a chilly socialite and reluctant mother; Nathalie, an isolated French teenager desperate for her mother's attention; Holly, a socially anxious au pair yearning to belong in her adopted country; and finally, Alena, the one accused of the crime, who has gone to great lengths to avoid emotional connection, and now finds herself caught in the turbulent power dynamics of her host family's household.
Set during the weeks leading up to the event, The Caretakers is a poignant and suspenseful drama featuring complicated women. It's a sensitive exploration of the weight of secrets, the pressures of country, community, and family—and miscommunications and misunderstandings that can have fatal consequences.
Debut novelist Amanda Bestor-Siegal's storytelling eviscerates a culture where childcare is often undervalued and appearances can be deceiving. Each main character—and indeed, the entire city of Paris—exists in a blur of anxiety wrought by the 2015 terrorist attacks. The author consistently braids this collective, social angst with characters' individual yearnings, insecurities and grievances. In a world where acts of political terror can bring a city to its knees, people also wield uncanny powers to inflict personal harm upon friends or family...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by Karen Lewis).
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The novel The Caretakers centers on several young women who are au pairs in France, living there on special visas that allow them to stay with a family, take language classes and immerse themselves for a year in Parisian social life.
The term "au pair" refers to a (usually young) person who lives with a family in a foreign country in exchange for performing childcare-related tasks. "Au pair" is a phrase of French origin meaning "at par," referring to the idea of an agreement made between equals: An au pair does domestic work for the family; in the meantime, the family provides room and board (and generally, a weekly stipend).
Au pair exchanges have been common in Europe since the era following World War II, and have gained ground...
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How rare this is, a book—a first book—that has it all. The Caretakers is thrilling and deeply moving, gorgeously written and intricately plotted, morally complex and surprising and sweeping and intimate, with some of the most indelible and heart-breaking characters I have ever encountered in a novel. It's a bold and brilliant book.
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