[English version below]

Beirt bhan: Mélanie, a bhfuil fonn uirthi, ó bhí sí ina déagóir, cáil a bhaint amach ar chlár réaltachta teilifíse. Éiríonn léi aird an phobail a fháil ar deireadh leis an gcainéal YouTube a chruthaíonn sí le saol a beirt pháiste a chur os comhair an tsaoil mhóir, lá i ndiaidh lae. An bhean eile: Clara, póilín, a thagann i gcabhair ar Mélanie agus a teaghlach nuair a bhuaileann tubaiste iad. Ach de réir mar a chuireann Clara eolas ar shaol na dtionchairí idirlín, tagann amhras mór uirthi faoin tslí bheatha atá roghnaithe ag Mélanie dá clann óg, leochaileach.

Úrscéal dochreidte maith, scéal comhaimseartha atá scríofa go máistriúil: cás na bpáistí a bhfuil i bhfad an iomarca dá saol curtha ar taispeáint ar na meáin shóisialta.

Láithreoir: Seán Ó Catháin
Aíonna: Bríd-Treasa Ní Ghaoithín agus Oisín Montanari

[Leagan Gaeilge thuas]

Mélanie, who grew up worshipping Loft Story (the French adaptation of Big Brother), has just one thing on her mind: becoming famous. But her one performance on a reality TV show is a flop. A few years later, now a wife and a mother, she creates her own channel on YouTube: Happy Playtime, which showcases her two children on a daily basis. She soon has millions of followers who “like” and comment on their every move. Meanwhile, a young woman, Clara, becomes a police officer. Marked by the brutal loss of her parents, she joins the criminal investigation unit. Their paths meet when Mélanie’s daughter, Kimmy, vanishes into thin air. A meet-up with the wrong person? Did she run away? Was she kidnapped? As the investigation runs its course and as Clara discovers the world of influencers, she realises how violent Happy Playtime can be for the two children, who are both the stars of the show, as well as its victims.

With this novel, Delphine de Vigan takes up a dizzying issue: the social media and their excesses. She brilliantly explores an increasingly navel-gazing society, in which everything is staged and up for sale, including family happiness.

Presenter: Seán Ó Catháin
Guests: Bríd-Treasa Ní Ghaoithín and Oisín Montanari