The Nanny Diaries

Nanny Knows It AllAlthough I expected this book to be funny, having heard that it delves deep into the quirks of New York's wealthy elite, I was not prepared for the feelings of indignation, dismay and embarrassment it evoked as well. Beneath the simple story line - a twenty something college student works as a nanny to pay the rent - lays a minefield of human dysfunction. There is the mother who can't stand to touch or be with her child for more than a few minutes, and only then if he is completely clean; the father who routinely fails to show up for preplanned family events such as trips to Aspen, Christmas parties and dinner parties; the father's mistress who tries to enlist Nanny in her secret trysts; and the father's secretary who is always covering for her boss. And that's just the immediate family. Things get even more complicated and uncomfortable as Nanny's duties are expanded to include helping the wife shop, run errands and make restaurant reservations. What saves the novel from becoming just another tawdry soap opera is the skillful development of the relationship between Nanny and her 4-year old charge Grayer, and the healthy reality checks provided by Nan's (Nannny) outspoken and eminently practical family. Like all young children, Grayer can be a terror. He bites, he kicks, he refuses to play nicely, and at first he can't stand the sight of Nanny who has come to replace his previous and much loved caretaker, Caitlin. However, as time goes on Grayer and Nanny hammer out a relationship and a routine they both can enjoy. However, as the tension builds between Grayer's parents, becomes clear that a meltdown is inevitable. What makes it almost unbearable is Grayer's vulnerability and Nanny's inability to protect him. Be prepared for humor laced with bitterness and sorrow as The Nanny Diaries proves that in the midst of abundance it is possible to starve from lack of love.

I think the worst thing about finding a great book to read, is the frantic search to find another one as great to replace the one just finished. I had been on that lengthy search for a time ... until finding "The Nanny Diaries".Incredible. Elegantly written, allowing the reader to feel as though they are with "Nan", the heroine of the novel, throughout her "adventures". For those who have critiqued this book on its realism, in a sense accusing the authors of using "sensationalism" to sell a book, simply by stringing together the most extreme predicaments, lighten up. Of course we understand that the authors wish to portray the most outrageous scenarios, which perhaps wouldn't happen all at once, but over the course of many years of employment. What matters is that perhaps not consciously recognized by everyone, that there is a diversity of "cultures" within a culture, and that these predicaments are plausable! It is in essence, the portrayal of a microcosm that represents the "civilized world" as a whole. Much of how we act and what we do as adults, is shaped by how we are raised and treated as children. On a whole, you're not meant to sympathize with Nan, our narrator and lead character, but with the child she takes care of, Grayer. Nan is our "doorway" into the world that "privledged" children are reared in. You sympathize with the child, possibly even sympathize with the parents on a level where you can UNDERSTAND why the act the way they do, yet not excuse it. To appreciate this novel, you can't evaluate Nan, but simply laugh with her or become exasperated and speechless, as she becomes. Understand the message, not the messanger.I've never laughed out loud, cried or have been as shocked with any other novel as I have with "The Nanny Diaries". It's very cleverly written, and I look forward to more works that these two authors produce.

I could not put this book down. McLaughlin and Kraus have written a compelling, intelligent page-turner that kept me laughing late into the night. Their satire of the Upper East Side nouveau riche set rings scarily true (I grew up there too, so I've seen a lot of such behavior), and my heart aches for the hundreds of love-deprived childern and sleep-deprived nannies out there.

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 horro

The Nanny Diaries is a window into a world that few of us will ever see: Park Avenue apartment life. When Nanny takes a job with the X family in Manhattan, her entire life changes. Although Nanny ostensibly becomes a part of their family, this book has very few spoonfuls of sugar.In a funny and satiric look at the New York high life, the authors of The Nanny Diaries have used their own experiences as nannies to create a wonderfully flawed, but real, main character. Nanny (in a very Bridget Jones kind of way) is trying to get an education, find a boyfriend, pay for her meagre life in Manhattan and keep her sanity in the face of a childcare job that is much more than she bargained for.By taking fun pokes at the attitudes of the rich toward their precious progeny, The Nanny Diaries roasts high society and takes a swipe at old money snobbery.Wickedly funny and, at times, quite touching. A tremendous accomplishemnt for these first time authors.