The Nanny Diaries

Rating:
Summary: Good satire
Review: The narrative in the first person present and the "on-the-inside" New York references left me disoriented at the beginning. As the novel progressed and the characters developed, I steadily gained interest and found the writing elegant and skilful. The names--Mrs. X, Mr. X., Nan, Nanny--were no doubt chosen to lend a tell-all and universal theme flavor, but I think the characters would have worked better with real names. A bit more physical description might not have gone amiss either. I felt captivated by Grayer's character, but I did not have a clear visual of him. Like all good satire, "The Nanny Diaries" makes a social point. The ending is very poignant. Be prepared to cry if you love children.--Sophie Simonet, author of ACT OF LOVE, a romantic suspense novel (Fictionwise)

Rating:
Summary: names may be changed to protect the not-so innocent
Review: When this book first came out, I had no desire to read _The Nanny Diaries_ due to the publicity and its seeming to be the latest in a long line of Bridget Jones-spawned "women's literature" novels. I also knew long in advance that I would probably love it in spite of myself (just as I adored _Bridget Jones' Diary_). So when it came into the coffee shop/used bookstore where I work, I snagged it and thought it was probably time. And I was right, I did love it.

The story and its statement about the very wealthy and their children is actually a sad one, and that message is well conveyed, but the voice of the generically-named "Nanny" is absolutely hilarious and right on target. She loves the child she is caring for (Grayer), and in order to protect his emotional well-being she must sometimes subtly circumvent the instructions of the neurotic and absent "Mrs. X". This puts her in a very bad position which is stated early on: "to do this job well is to lose it."

I very much liked the anonymity McLaughlin and Kraus gave their fictional characters: there is of course "Nanny" the nanny, her love interest "H.H." (for Harvard Hottie), and the employer family "X." It brings home the feeling that the authors are writing about similar situations that did happen to them, and the nannycam diatribe at the end smacks of everything every nanny has ever wanted to scream at her employers but has never dared. This book may not be added to the literary canon anytime soon, but it is interesting, witty, compassionate, and impossible to stop reading once you've started.

Rating:
Summary: LOVED IT!!!
Review: I just loved this book! It's so refreshing, so funny, so sad, so delightful, so enjoyable and so relatable! Being a baby-sitter, I could really see myself in Nanny but I certainly do not think that you have to be a nanny or a baby-sitter to love it! Everything was quite satisfying except the ending, in my opinion. Overall, I enjoyed the book and I definitely it!

Rating:
Summary: Okay read but unsatisfying
Review: As many reviewers before me have pointed out, this is not a fun and light read. While there are some very good scenes of how absolutely nutty and maddening the employers are to their help, in the end, it's a very dark look into the lives of the upper classes.

Again, the familiar plaintive cry comes from my lips, "Why the heck did she put up with such abuse?" She wasn't Jane Eyre, she wasn't trapped in a situation that she had no escape from. This is one of the weakest parts of the book and I found myself starting to feel a low level of contempt for the spineless narrator.

All this, plus a romance subplot that is hastily thrown into the proceedings with needing to be there. I'd almost swear money that the romance angle was an editorial decision after reading the galley and not seeing enough sex and romance. It fits very awkwardly into the framework of the rest of the book. (Secondly, who in the world eats Ben and Jerry's on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum in December???)

Coupled with an extremely unsatisfying climax, this book could have been better but alas, it is stuck firmly in the world of the mediocre.

Rating:
Summary: good read
Review: A fabulous read. Anyone who has ever had to deal with the unreasonably wealthy will appreciate every moment of the lead character. I could hardly put it down and releated to every oddball moment.

Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed it!
Review: I really, really liked this book. I had avoided it for so long because of the hype, but it's really good. While it is funny with its wry observations, there is an element of sadness if you think about the poor little boy. Still, worth the money.

Also recommended: McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD

Rating:
Summary: a big disappointment
Review: I thought this was supposed to be a funny, lighthearted look at the world of being a nanny to the social elite. The story follows a college student working as a nanny for a young boy whose parents are members of the social elite. The majority of the stories revolve around the parents having little time or interest in their son and the poor treatment of the nanny. The nanny finds herself in several predicaments, but never speaks up for herself. I found that VERY annoying as it went on and on. The nanny complains about the way she is treated, but doesn't do anything to try to resolve the problem.

Rating:
Summary: Such a sad book...
Review: I am not sure how anyone could think of this tale as either funny or a light read. Sure, there are some scenarios that are so outrageous you cannot help but chuckle, especially in the beginning of the book, but honestly the last 1/3 of the book left me wanting to cry for that poor little boy. The scene where Nan leaves the beach house, with G wailing in the background wondering where she has gone, has haunted me. As a parent of small children, I can't bring myself to imagine how that poor child could recover from the systematic emotional abuse he suffers from his "parents." It is obvious he loves N so much that to have her "abandon" him, as I'm sure this is how his parents would explain it, would be beyond cruel and heartless.

I think the reviewers who portray this as a funny, light read are reading the surface of the book only, and must be disconnected from the heartbreaking life of that little boy.

Rating:
Summary: get it from the library, if at all
Review: This is not a book to spend your money on. Though I thought it was an entertaining and quick read, but it was disappointing. The device of using anonymous "names" for the main characters annoyed me, as did Nanny who always seemed eager to be the brunt of mistreatment. There were several times I thought, "Really, this would be such an easy situation to remedy! Why doesn't she just . . . ?" But, Nanny always pulled through with a stupid decision that pulled her more directly into her unsavory situation. Really, her decisions were so bad and seemingly unrealistic, I could not root for her. But, if you need something that's not too challenging and a bit entertaining, check this our from the library. I'm glad I didn't spend my money on it.

Rating:
Summary: Most of all just plain scary and sad
Review: "The Nanny Diaries" is being marketed as being quite funny and humorous and there are some hilarious scenes in it (the Teletubbies vs. limo incident had me in stitches) but 90% of the time this is actually a very sad book.

Written by two former nannies, it tells the story of Nan who works part-time taking care of 4-year-old Grayer in order to pay her expensive rent while trying to get through college. Grayer is the unfortunate child of Mr. and Mrs. X, who are members of the NY social elite and therefore can't possibly find the time or emotional energy to even relate to their son. The father is hardly ever home as he is busy with his career (and his mistress) and the mother does her best to avoid any kind of physical contact with Grayer and treats him most of all like a hat she bought on impulse and now can't quite decide whether she wants to keep or not. Nan is treated equally bad as "part-time nanny" turns into "around-the-clock-slave" and we are treated to one horrendous example after another of how other people don't even register on the radar of Mrs. X and her kind.

Mrs. X's poor treatment of Nan is one thing, and it will have you wanting to hurl the book through the room about once every ten minutes, but the thing that will really get to you is the insight into the lives of Grayer and other children like him. I don't know whether emotional deprivation actually counts as child abuse but it certainly should and there is just nothing funny in reading about a child who will grow up to be an emotionally deeply disturbed person. The New York Times calls this book "...diabolically funny..." and to some it may read as a clever satire but to me all it is, is a story of a woman who can't control her life and therefore takes it out on her hired help and a young boy who craves love and affection so desperately.

It is still worth reading though because of the descriptions of the tender relationship which evolves between Nan and Grayer. It's obvious that both Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus have loved all of the children who have been part of their lives dearly and the descriptions of child/nanny affection in this book will move you deeply. Let's hope that all of the Grayer's of this world are fortunate enough to meet a Nan along the way.