Nanny Diaries
- Book Review,
by Emma McLaughlin
Amazon.com
The Nanny Diaries is an absolutely addictive peek into the utterly weird world of child rearing in the upper reaches of Manhattan's social strata. Cowritten by two former nannies, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, the novel follows the adventures of the aptly named Nan as she negotiates the Byzantine byways of working for Mrs. X, a Park Avenue mommy. Nan's 4-year-old charge, the hilariously named Grayer (his pals include Josephina, Christabelle, Brandford, and Darwin) is a genuinely good sort. He can't help it if his mom has scheduled him for every activity known to the Upper East Side, including ice skating, French lessons, and a Mommy and Me group largely attended by nannies. What makes the book so impossible to put down is the suspense of finding out what the unbelievably inconsiderate Mrs. X will demand of Nan next. One pictures the two authors having the last hearty laugh on their former employers. --Claire Dederer
From Publishers Weekly
Two former Manhattan nannies blow the lid off of the private child-care industry with a hilarious debut that pulls no punches as it recounts the travails of Nan, a hip Mary Poppins looking for a job to fit around her child-development classes at NYU. Mrs. X seems reasonable enough when she hires Nan to look after her four-year-old son, Grayer, but she quickly reveals herself to be a monster a bundle of neuroses wrapped up in Prada, whose son is little more than another status symbol in a fabulous Park Avenue apartment. Mr. X is just as horrible, although he's rarely seen or heard, too busy navigating mergers and mistresses to make time for a family starving for his affection. Nan finds herself stuck in a low-paying job from which she can be fired on a whim, enduring a steady stream of condescension, indifference and passive-aggressive notes on Mrs. X's posh stationery. Against the advice of family and friends, she stays because of her devotion to Grayer but how long will it be before she explodes? The pages fairly crackle with class resentment that might have been more convincing if Nanny's own family weren't as comfortable, and the finale delivers more whimper than bang, but it's easy to forgive such flaws when everything else rings true. Especially impressive is the authors' ability to allow the loathsome Mrs. X occasional flashes of humanity and pathos. Required reading for parents and the women they hire to do their parenting. National advertising and author publicity. (Mar.)Forecast: With Julia Roberts doing the Random Audio version, and film rights already sold to Miramax, the sky's the limit for this thoroughly appealing title.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This is an inside story. The authors have both worked as nannies for well-to-do New Yorkers, and here they fictionalize their experiences to protect the innocentDand the guilty! Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From AudioFile
Dysfunctional family life among the upper crust of Manhattan's Upper East Side is held up to a magnifying lens, and it is not pretty. Written broadly and relying on stereotypes, still, it makes for a fascinating, engaging, and ultimately sad story. The writing voice suggests a protagonist who is sensitive, caring, vulnerable, and eager to please; unfortunately Roberts fails to capture this, coming across instead as flat, matter-of-fact, and self-assured. The accents she attempts are unrecognizable and inconsistent and prove distracting. Breezy with touches of humor and pathos, this story makes for good listening despite an out-of-sync narration. E.S. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
From Booklist
The difference between a baby-sitter and a nanny is the employer's income. If your boss makes seven figures, you're definitely a nanny. Here, the nanny's real name is Nanny, and her charge is four-year-old Grayer Addison X. College student Nanny wanted a 12-hour-a-week gig, but soon enough, she is soon working triple-overtime attending "Family Day" at preschool and being asked by a "Long-Term Development Consultant" what "methodology" she follows in dressing young Grayer. Things only get worse when Mr. X's mistress expects Nanny to help facilitate her employer's affair. Based on the authors' experiences as nannies to Manhattan's elite, the novel thoroughly skewers the privileged few, but beyond the satire, readers will care greatly for Nanny, poor Grayer, and even Mrs. X, who suffers the humiliation of her husband's infidelity even as she attempts to deny it. Some minor characters need fleshing out and a subplot involving Nanny's romance with an Ivy League student is left dangling, but finally this is a fast-paced, witty, and thoroughly entertaining tale. Beth Warrell
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"McLaughlin and Kraus... [have a] carefully calibrated sense of compassion and delicious sense of the absurd." - Entertainment Weekly
Review
"a national phenomenon" --Newsweek
"[Nanny is] Mary Poppins channeling Dorothy Parker" --Time
VOGUE
"...the details, devastating as they are, ring true, making this [book]...impossible to put down."
New York Magazine
"...the wicked fascination of this novel lies in all the wacky tidbits about life in the social stratosphere....very funny..."
Publishers Weekly
"...pulls no punches...Required reading for parents and the women who they hire to do their parenting...thoroughly appealing..."
Harper's Bazaar
"a humorous, detail-packed new novel..."
Kirkus
"First-novelists and former nannies McLaughlin and Kraus get the details right"
The New York Times
"...diabolically funny..."
Newsweek
"a national phenomenon"
Review
"a national phenomenon" --Newsweek
"[Nanny is] Mary Poppins channeling Dorothy Parker" --Time
Book Description
Wanted:
One young woman to take care of four-year-old boy.
Must be cheerful, enthusiastic and selfless-bordering on masochistic
Must relish sixteen-hour shifts with a deliberately nap-deprived pre-schooler
Must love getting thrown up on, literally and figuratively, by everyone in his family
Must enjoy the delicious anticipation of ridiculously erratic pay
Mostly, must love being treated like fungus found growing out of employers Hermes bag.
Those who take it personally need not apply.
Who wouldn't want this job?
Struggling to graduate from NYU and afford her microscopic studio apartment, Nanny takes a position caring for the only son of the wealthy X family. She rapidly learns the insane amount of juggling involved to ensure that a Park Avenue wife who doesn't work, cook, clean, or raise her own child has a smooth day.
When the Xs marriage begins to disintegrate, Nanny ends up involved way beyond the bounds of human decency or good taste. Her tenure with the X family becomes a nearly impossible mission to maintain the mental health of their four-year-old, her own integrity and, most importantly, her sense of humor. Over nine tense months Mrs. X and Nanny perform the age-old dance of decorum and power as they test the limits of modern-day servitude.
The Nanny Diaries deftly skewers the manner in which America's over-privileged raise les petites over-privileged-as if grooming them for a Best in Show competition. Written by two former nannies, this alternately comic and poignant satire punctures the glamour of Manhattan's upper class.
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