Review: Delphine de Vegan: “Children are kings” – this is the book

This could be a very classic crime movie. Story: A six-year-old girl suddenly disappeared; She just played a game of hide and seek with her older brother and the neighbors’ kids, and now she can’t be found – until the first kidnapping mail arrives a few days later… In describing what happened, the desperate look at her changed Mother Melanie, who wonders what she did wrong and who wants to do So her can, with the sober look of the detective Clara, who did not give birth to herself and notoriously stubborn unity of mind among her colleagues. Including excerpts from the interrogation transcripts…

So: who was it? Yes, that will be explained too – but it really doesn’t matter almost, “Children are Kings” is about something completely different. Kimmy is the epitome of appearing alongside her brother Sammy before her disappearance. They are the protagonists of France’s most successful family blog, “Happy Récré”, which has millions of followers, primarily on YouTube, as well as on Instagram stories.

Of course, Clara immediately realizes the driving force behind this when she looks at all the material online during the investigation: “The need for confession that spoke from these photos cannot be overlooked. Melanie Klaucks wanted people to look at her, follow her, and love her. Her family was a work and an achievement. , and her children were an extension of her. The flood of feelings spilling over her with each picture posted, and praise for her dress, hairstyle, and makeup was surely making up for a weakness or concern.

Not a classic thriller: Children are kings by Delphine de Vegan

Meanwhile, likes, hearts, and virtual applause became her engine and life’s work: something like an emotional and effective ROI she couldn’t do without “unboxing” videos, i.e. unboxing manufacturer-sponsored gifts, interacting with voting when shopping or any “challenges” for consumers . But Melanie is truly convinced that there is nothing better for her children than all the love and attention on the Internet that she always wished as a teenager, an ardent fan of emerging reality shows in the format “Big Brother” …

Writer Delphine de Vigan (born 1966), who previously won awards for her intimate novels in France at home and also ended up in a bestseller, actually uses what appears to be poorly created in abbreviated form, and of course doesn’t stay that way without cliches in detail. For more details: a comprehensive view of the phenomenon of these influencers from children and the family. There are a few famous people in just about every country, and about these, again and again, with some general interest, there are frequent debates about whether their supposed stars aren’t so docile by demanding parental love and are constantly being pushed into camera work that isn’t suitable for children. At all: “little slaves”. However, behind them stands a huge army of channels, and thus families, striving for this success, this interest, and thus presents the most bleak picture of the ever-increasing tendency to abandon the private sphere in the online community.

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Melanie was a woman of her time. It was that simple. To live you had to accumulate opinions, likes and stories. “A good and necessary novel. And it, by the way, saves the shockwaves in Kimi’s story – and instead reveals a horror lasting until well after that in 2031.”

the book: Delphine de Vegan: Children are kings. ad. French. By Doris Heinemann, Dumont, 320 pages, €23 (from 14 March)