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Title: The Nanny Diaries: A Novel by Emma McLaughlin, Nicola Kraus ISBN: 0-312-29163-9 Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin Pub. Date: 18 March, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.71 (1142 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Comment: My sister-in-law was a nanny for several years, so when I saw this book, I had to get it for both of us. Every story she ever told me has unfolded in this 306 page book.
The authors, former nannies themselves, have a disclaimer at the front of the book stating that the characters written are completely ficticious and not based on any particular past employer. This must be why the main character's name is simply "Nanny", and her employers are "Mr. and Mrs. X". Nanny has just been hired by the wealthy Xes to look after their son Grayer. She is to replace the old nanny, who had the audacity to request a week off to visit her sick sister in Australia. Nanny is just looking to keep her rent money coming in while completing her senior year at NYC, but soon finds that she is drawn to poor little Grayer, who at times can be a pill, but for the most part is just a poor little rich kid who wants his parents to notice him. Mrs. X spends most of her time shopping, planning dinner parties (in the hopes that her absentee/workaholic husband just might spend time with them), and volunteering on several committees. Nanny is used to the explicit demands Mrs. X requests for Grayer, and is not surprised when Mrs. X constantly asks her to do extra chores she wasn't hired for (like picking up Mrs. X's dry cleaning, picking up about 12 different items for a 30 people dinner party, or even escorting Grayer and the Xes to a fancy executive Halloween bash dressed as a giant Teletubby- one of the funniest passages in the book). Or, she'll show up 2 hours past the time she told Nanny she'd be home, leaving Nanny little more than 15 minutes to get to a school to give a speech that will determine whether she passes or fails. Nanny feels it's worth it, though, when the envelope of cash comes at the end of the week ("most nannies are paid under the table", she tells us).
Even so, Nanny gets more than she bargained for when, at the Halloween bash, she and Grayer walk in on Mr. X and his Chicago executive (whom the book simply calls "Ms. Chicago")making out. Mr. X acts as if mothing is amiss, and Nanny is left to question whether or not she should report this infidelity to his wife. Slowly, Mrs. X begins to get her own suspicions, and Grayer begins to fall apart under the obvious cloud of neglect and dread that his father has stirred up. Nanny wants to run, but feels obligated to navigate these treacherous adult waters for Grayer, hoping things will calm down on their own. Meanwhile, she's also fallen for a Harvard student that lives in the Xes building, leaving Mrs. X to treat her badly and hurl rude comments at her because she is jealous of the happiness Nanny is finding with a guy. Hhhmph! How can Nanny tread through these tumultuous waters and still graduate from NYC? You'll have to find out for yourself. I read this book in less than 48 hours because I couldn't wait to find out what outrageous thing Mrs. X would come up with next. After listening to my sis-in-law's horror stories, I found that I wasn't surprised about the Xes shannanigans. All in all, a very interesting look into the frustrating world of raising someone elses children under extreme conditions.
Rating: 2
Summary: why bother
Comment: I kept asking myself why I was bothering to read this book. I guess the answer was that I was on a boat. Why anyone would feel it was ok to put up with the abuse that was ladled out to Nanny is a mystery. Aside from Greyer you feel sorry for no one. I did finish it because I always finish books I have gotten half way through and because I didn't have anything else to read. The blurbs on the cover stating that it is absolutely side splitting was stupid. Any reviewer who stated that should be fired.
Rating: 5
Summary: Good for a laugh&feel better about your parenting skills
Comment: When a book is surrounded by a media blitz it is easy to hesitate before reading it, especially a first novel. Don't let that stand in the way of reading The Nanny Diaries. Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus have crafted a funny, sharp look at the nanny business from the working end...Nanny, as she is to be known, has decided that part-time child care will be the perfect way to pay for her final year at NYU. After all, she has been babysitting for years, been a nanny before and knows what to look out for. When the X family finds her,and she becomes the part-time tender for Grayer her careful plans seem to be working, for a moment. This humerous, bittersweet novel looks at the lives of the people who care for Grayer and no matter how she tries, Nanny is swept into the web of the X'es lives. Soon it seems every waking moment is to be available to cater to Mrs. X as well as to follow odd, intricate instructions regarding Grayer's food. Despite the mountains of lists and educational enrichments,and unrealistic expectations, Nanny and Grayer soon do what nannys and kids have done for years ....play and have fun. And as Nanny sees the adults in his life seemingly fall apart she is determined to help him just stay a little boy. I talked to several friends who have worked as nannies and they said the book ran true with them, not so much the specifics, but the tug of war of trying to balance concern for a very snmall boy with "it's just my job".
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Title: The Devil Wears Prada : A Novel by LAUREN WEISBERGER ISBN: 038550926X Publisher: Doubleday Pub. Date: 15 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: The Lovely Bones: A Novel by Alice Sebold ISBN: 0316666343 Publisher: Little Brown & Company Pub. Date: 03 July, 2002 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella ISBN: 0385335482 Publisher: Delta Pub. Date: 06 February, 2001 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: I Don't Know How She Does It by ALLISON PEARSON ISBN: 0375713751 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 26 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner ISBN: 0743418174 Publisher: Washington Square Press Pub. Date: 02 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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