Search - The Manny

A great book about the obscenely rich, and the priorities one wife/mother must make to keep her children and herself intact. Quick read and well written.

This book seemed to be trying to be one of substance. There were some interesting plot elements begging for exploration. Jamie is in her thirties, a mother of three small children. She finds herself ten years into a marriage with a guy she doesn't really like, living the good life surrounded by wealthy people who seem much more comfortable in their wealth than she is. Jamie can't seem to relax into her expected role, and chooses to work part-time for a television station. Her children miss the attention of their parents, and her oldest son, who is nine, seems especially affected.

It would have been interesting to explore in detail these lives of the rich and unhappy, to check out their dysfunctional families. It would have been interesting to see a more in-depth treatment of Jamie's job and her career-boosting assignment landing an interview with a woman who claims to have dirt on a respected Congressman.

In the end, though, this book is simply a frivolous story of a married woman who moons over the male nanny she hires to get her son back on track. He's too perfect in every way, with his easygoing attitude, incredible physique, and knack for charming small children and hired help alike. Jamie and the manny flirt with each other in a variety of situations, with no regard to who is observing. He seems to have no problem with the fact that she is married and has three children, and she seems to have no problem leading him on when she isn't sure if she is going to leave her husband.

For most of the book, Jamie floats, not making any real effort to fix her marriage or to get out of it, not making more time for her kids, not trying to get out of the society she hates nor trying to get more comfortable with it. She passively waits for something to happen to her, and ultimately things do happen. It's not nearly as satisfying, though, as if she had been a character who figured out what she wanted in life and took steps to make it happen.

The book was rather predictable and, as the characters never really sprang to life for me, also rather forgettable.

Great book, well written, and you can tell that the author knows her subject (rich New York City families) very well. Recommended!