Search - The Nanny Diaries

"Although 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."
- Naia

It looks like a good book, but by page 30 or so they had used the F word many times. Just got kind of annoyed at it.

I was very sad reading this book. The parents' lack of love for their child really got to me. Part of me wanted the nanny to stay, so that the boy would have someone around him who really cared about him, but I understood why she had to go. I didn't find this book to be funny-just too sad.

The authors skewer Park Avenue society, absent fathers, touch-me-not mothers, and the plight of the working nanny with deftness and humor. But there's a strain of sadness there for the over-scheduled, under-loved children of the wealthy, reared by a revolving-door series of hired hands and never sure who will still be there in the morning.

fun. fluffy read.

Ms McLaughlin and Kraus have joined forces to write a fictionalized account of their experiences working as nannies to wealthy families in New York.

In this story, it is specifically nannies for families in which only the father works at a paying job. The wife does non-paying, but very important charity work and social events with other women like herself. Neither parent is actually interested in actually being a parent. They have a child and pay others to take care of the raising of the child.

The story is interesting and well told, but so much is so very unbelievable, I’m not sure that I’m willing to apply the trust is stranger than fiction mantra. I did enjoy reading it, but it really feels like both authors pulled only the most extreme eccentricities of working for these women – and it would appear it is the wives that they work for, the fathers are pretty much relegated to being money machines.

One disappointment is their ability to give the family and other characters in the story actual names – the main character’s name is always “Nanny.” Even her boyfriend calls her “Nanny.” I assume they were attempt a writing ploy to show how truly non-entity she was when working as the nanny – but, based on conversations with her family and friends, they do not see her as a non-entity.

I was also frustrated that the main character only wanted to work about 10 hours per week for this family, but was obviously doing more like 30 and would never just say no. As if there are no other jobs in New York than this one position that would give her the hours that she needed to make the money that she needed. Nanny does need the income, but she is obviously able to find way more hours than she was hired to work to accommodate this family that I think she would have been better served working a consistent 20 hours per week at the worst Wal-Mart store in the country. It was very frustrating to me that she wouldn’t just quit.

But, I understood why she didn’t want to quit – she’d developed an attachment to the child and recognized that he was desperate for attention. So desperate that he wore his father’s business card attached to his clothing at all times. It was obvious she thought that if she was not there, this poor little boy would suffer immensely.

Overall, an interesting book.