Search - The Nanny Diaries

I am one of the few people who disliked the Nanny Diaries. I couldn’t get past the self centered boss who used the nanny as a slave. I know that is the whole point of the book. I just wanted the nanny to go off in a big way. I am not sure who was worse, the evil boss or the spineless nanny. No amount of money is worth your dignity. The worse thing about it is that there are people like that in the world.

I really enjoyed this book. Good use of humor was made to present what was really a very sad story about "how the other half lives."

I'm sure that not every wealthy family with a Nanny treats their children and employees this badly, but knowing that the authors have worked for many of them makes it seem likely that this happens quite often. One of the saddest parts of this book for me was having the feeling that four-year old Grayer, while a sweet child, albeit with problems caused by the lack of attachment from his parents, was inevitably going to end up just the same as his parents when he gets older.

I felt very sympathetic towards Nanny. She was well aware of being walked on, but felt the need to stay around to help protect little Grayer. Such a selfless act took a lot of courage and strength.

An insane social satire in the vein of The Devil Wears Prada, this book delves into the world of society mavins and the people they hire to be their children's pseudo-parents.

Nanny is trying to finish her degree in child development at NYU, and takes on nanny positions as a way to stay housed in her tiny studio that she shares with her over-sexed stewardess... i mean... flight attendant... roomate.

She finds new employment with the X family, which consists of Mr. X, his socialite "i'm-too-busy-with-the-Parent's-League-to-BE-a-parent" wife, and their 4 year old son, Grayer. What should have been a two nights a week job, turns into a full-time nanny position, plus the bonus of getting to be a personal assistant to Mrs. X, all for the whopping sum of 10 bucks an hour. In between jaunts with Grayer to his French lessons, piano lessons, playdates, preschool, doctor appointments, and schlepping to Saks to get the right kind of lavender water for Mr's X's trendy soirees, Nanny tries desperately to get to her classes on time and write her Senior thesis.

Add to this the discovery of finding out Mr. X is cheating on Mrs. X with a colleague... *gasp*. Suddenly, even the mistress is trying to tell Nanny what to do, and what to buy!

This story is pretty entertaining. The girls who wrote this both have actually BEEN nannies to over 30 families in NYC, and one must wonder how many of these instances that happen actually happened to them, because surely, you can't just make this sh*t up.

One thing i could have wished for... a 'real' first name for the main character. She and everyone else call her 'Nanny' through the entire book, and until i was halfway through the book, i kept wondering to myself who on god's green earth would NAME their child Nanny and how IRONIC it was that she would end up BEING a Nanny, til i realized that Nanny must be a fictional pseudonym for the character, much as the last name of "X" for the family she works for. What threw me was that all her close friends and family kept calling her 'Nan' like it really was her name...

I do recommend this for a read, if you enjoy this sort of book. I thought it was so touching how close she and Grayer became, and i could definately use some of her nanny moments in my real life sometimes.

Good book. A fun read!

Good book!

I agree with the last review. I was over the abnoxious boss in the beginning of the book and was hoping the nanny would do something to remedy the situation. I was estremely annoyed with the ending when she let the boss-lady get her way anyway. Reminded me a lot about the Devil Wears Prada, which was a much better read.