'Lullaby' is about boundaries. Leila Slimani More Quotes by Leila Slimani More Quotes From Leila Slimani People are not born evil, although we all have evil within us. Leila Slimani usbornevilpeople That animal part of us, it's the most interesting part. It's everything that has to do with drives, with things we can't stop ourselves from doing, with all the spaces where we're unable to reason with ourselves. It has its dark side, but there's a luminous side, too, which is the fact that we're just another species of animal. Leila Slimani stopdark-sidedarkanimal When you become a 'public person,' I find it very difficult to keep following social media. It is too harsh, too violent. I only read newspapers online. Leila Slimani personyousocial-mediamedia Motherhood is not only something very pure and very full of love, it can be full of dark things, too. Leila Slimani somethingmotherhooddarklove Authors have a nationality; books do not. Leila Slimani authorsbooksnationality I love looking at pieces of art through the eyes of a child. Leila Slimani eyeslookingloveart All fiction is based on truth - 'Madame Bovary' is based on a true story! Leila Slimani truestorytruthfiction One of the big mistakes of the Moroccan elite and the elite in the Muslim world was to be afraid of the conservatives. They are fighting for their ideas. Why shouldn't we fight for our ideas? Leila Slimani mistakesfightworldideas I am not afraid of being a pariah. Leila Slimani amafraidi-ambeing I remember that the first time I looked at my son, of course I felt love. But I think the first feeling was not love: it was fear. Someone is needing me. If something happens to him, what am I going to do? Maybe I won't survive if something happens to him? The fear was as big as the love. Leila Slimani metimeloveson I knew I wanted to write about a nanny, but it was difficult for me to find a narrative rhythm. Leila Slimani findmerhythmdifficult When you live closely with people, you don't see who they really are. In particular, with nannies, they only exist in your home, and when they leave, they don't really exist anymore for you. Leila Slimani liveyouhomepeople I like to describe my characters as though they were all trapped in a glass box. Leila Slimani glassboxliketrapped The only way you can know someone is through their actions - you can never know what's going on inside them. Leila Slimani someoneneveryouway I had a nanny growing up in Morocco, and my parents encouraged me to put myself in her shoes sometimes. Leila Slimani parentsmyselfmeshoes I am not patriotic or nationalistic, but the French language is like a country where I take refuge when I have nowhere else to go. It consoles me for everything. For me, the language no longer belongs to the colonialists. Leila Slimani i-ammelanguagecountry I, too, am interested in identity and Islam, which is what people expect of us. But one must not write what is expected. It's important for North African writers to show they have other things to say. Leila Slimani islamimportantidentitypeople A nanny is a woman who lives in an apartment, but the apartment is not her own. She raises children, teaches them how to walk, how to speak; she gives them food - but these children are not her children. So she is in a very ambiguous place. Leila Slimani womanwalkfoodchildren I remember, when I was a teenager, people telling me, 'You know, when you are a mother, you will never feel lonely. You will feel so much love, and you will be fulfilled by this love.' Then I became a mother. And I learnt that is absolutely wrong: you can feel very lonely with your children, even if you love them. Leila Slimani memotherlovechildren I think maternal instinct is a male construct that has been used for centuries to keep women in their place, at home. Leila Slimani placethinkwomenhome
