The book
A cautionary tale for a world in which social media has shattered the boundaries of intimacy.
The first time that Mélanie met Clara, she was stunned by Clara’s sense of authority, and for her part, Clara was struck by Mélanie’s pink, glittery nails, which shimmered in the dark. “She looks like a child,” thought the first. “She looks like a doll,” pondered the second.
These two women, both of the same generation and exposed to the same forms of media throughout their lives, could not be more different in adulthood. Mélanie is a social media superstar, broadcasting her children's daily lives on a family YouTube channel. Clara is a young police officer, assigned to the case after Mélanie’s daughter Kimmy is abducted.
Traversing the Big Brother generation, the social media influencer generation, and right up to the 2030s, Delphine de Vigan offers a bone-chilling exposé of a world where everything is broadcasted and monetized, even family happiness.
The author
Delphine de Vigan
Delphine de Vigan has published several novels, a number of which were nominated and won major literary prizes in France, including the Prix Goncourt, Prix Goncourt des lycéens, Prix Renaudot, Prix de Libraires, Prix du roman Fnac and Gran prix de lectrices de Elle. She lives in Paris.
Press
- Jan 26 2025
"Suspensful, a plotty page turner."
— Frenchly - Jan 26 2024
“Smooth and lucid.”
— Frenchly - Dec 7 2023
“Sociological...interesting”
— Star Tribune - Nov 28 2023
“Chilling...prescient.”
— The New York Times Book Review - Oct 27 2023
“A scathing tale for a social media era.”
— NYLON - Sep 28 2023
“Captivating.”
— Booklist