Rating: Summary: Waste of time Review: What a disapointing book! If you want to read about a self-satisfied little miss and her escapades in babysitting go ahead. But in general this book was boring and poorly written.
Rating: Summary: I love Julia normally? Review: Listening about the cretins inhabiting this account and read by the somewhat perplexingly annoying voice of Julia Roberts I had to give up after 2 tapes. It was just grating on me that much. I just couldn't flog my ears another minute with these people and that voice. Sorry Julia..love your movies and your smile!
Rating: Summary: Fun but frivolous Review: Nanny Diaries is a dark comedy about a nanny's (appropriately named Nan) trials and tribulations with a dysfunctional offspring of a wealthy, indifferent upper crust New York couple. An alledgedly accurate portrayal of some of the experiences of the authors' real-life experience as nannies, the book is an irreverant look at life in the rich lane and the children who get run over in the process. The book is at its best when it focuses on the crazy goings-on in the "X" household and grows tedious when exploring Nan's non-work life. Overall, it is an entertaining, mindless read, but does not live up to the hype surrounding its publishing.
Rating: Summary: Guilty-Pleasure Peek into The Glitzy World/its Underside Review: The book is a breezy, entertaining page-turner that chronicles the employment of a nanny ("Nan") with a self-absorbed, materialistic couple in Manhattan's world of the rich. The shopaholic "Mrs. X" seems a parody of modern-day Upper East Side divas, with her obsession with things as frivolous as the right brand of "lavender water," gift bags for a party, and the latest Prada coat du season. And yet one wonders if she is a real person...certainly one imagines this pair of young authors is at least partially drawing on their real-life experiences as nannies to the Rich and Heinous. Her detailed rants provide much of the comic relief of the story. Yet there is a poignant side as well, as the Xes' sweet little boy, "Grayer," is caught in the fallout between his parents' immaturity and self-absorption, not to mention neglect. Nan's character is likeable and very loving to the boy, but the biggest frustration in the book is Nan's inability to stand up to Mrs. X throughout the book. I felt the ending was unsatisfying and left things unresolved. My only other nit to pick with the book is that it might leave all its readers with the impression that every wealthy parent who has a nanny is necessarily a bad parent and guilty of neglect. I don't think it would be fair to make this generalization. But overall, the book was an enjoyable read and will provide a measure of schadenfreude to people who ever found themselves envying the lifestyles of highly moneyed Manhattanites. - Julia, author, "My Life at AOL"
Rating: Summary: A mixture of funny and sad Review: Reading other reviews, it seems like people are divided into two camps: either this book was funny or it was sad; a few people thought it was both. It might be just a light, enjoyable read for someone who's only looking for a peek at what the world of Park Avenue parenting may be like. I did not think that Mrs. X was presented as purely bad; I thought the authors did a good job inbuing her with moments of "humanity". Nor do I think that Nanny was presented as purely good; as some other reviewers pointed out, she did overindulge on the vodka at the corporate Halloween party. So for their first effort, I think the authors did a pretty good job with their characterization. That said, the character I really fell for was "Grover." (Nanny's nickname for her charge, Grayer.) There are so many terrible things that happen to children in this world...going hungry or without clothes or medicine, growing up in war-torn countries, etc. But somehow, it seemed equally sad to me to think of a child, even a fictional one, growing up without the love, attention and validation of his parents. While Grayer's case was extreme, unfortunately, those children do exist and they are not the sole province of the ultra-rich. I guess everyone has a different experience with a book. For myself, it left me with a renewed determination that while I may not send my kids to school with the trendiest clothes, we don't live at the most upscale address, etc., I will not shortchange them on my time, attention and love.
Rating: Summary: Buck up Lil' Buckarette, and get another career! Review: Should we be shocked, shocked to find that those who inhabit the highest socioeconomic levels are not all sweetness and light? Hello! They didn't get where thay are through altruism. The first few chapters were entertaining but by the fifth chapter I quickly tired of all the simpering, whining, and poor-me-poor-little-kid-aren't-they-horrid? I expected more, and expected it on the next page, but I didn't even get earmuffs. The protagonist should have told them to have a Coke and a Smile, quit and called the department of social services and the labor board on her way out.
Rating: Summary: The Nanny Diaries Review: What a DISAPPOINTMENT. I was so excited to get this book because I had heard so much about it. I am probably the only person to be honest about it. It was wordy and draggy. I was just really disappointed.
Rating: Summary: Horribly depressing story if you have kids Review: Picked it up thinking it was supposed to be a comedy based on seeing reviews for it on TV (can't even imagine a movie option as was being discussed). It was well written. Enough about that. It obviously evoked a reaction in me. As a mother of two, I sobbed at the thought of such unloving, manipulative parents. I know the characters are fictious, but paint a horrible picture of what the "good life" is. Makes you happy for what you have if you know how to take care of it. I really would not care for a sequel or movie version. It would be awful to remake a "Mommy Dearest" from the nanny's point of view.
Rating: Summary: fiction doesn't get any closer to reality Review: As a New Yorker, I felt that this book was an honest to goodness depiction of life as I know it. It was great. These women, the authors, added humor and wit to real life unlike anything I have ever seen. I laughed, I cried, and I even found myself upset when Nanny was. The book is impossible to put down after you start reading it. I HIGHLY recommend it.
Rating: Summary: Nanny needs a reality check Review: This 306 page story covers the daily grind of "Nanny" a 21 year old law student in New York who takes a part time job as a nanny to the X family, to care for their four year old son, Grayer. Mrs. X is shallow, neglects her son, vain, pompous, cruel and acts like a dictator through the whole thing. Mr. X is an adulterer, never sees his son more than a few minutes, cruel, evasive and unloving. Nanny is smart, pretty, from a wealthy family (the description of her Grandma's house certainly makes you think they are at least well off), charming and NEVER DOES ANYTHING WRONG. Nanny is perrrrfect while everyone else is mean. Nanny makes $10 an hour. She has no backbone at all. She is annoying. I have worked as a nanny for a wealthy family in California. It was nothing like this. I find the story really half baked and the character of Nanny is difficult to like.
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