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The Nanny Diaries: A Novel

Average rating: 3/5

Based on 68 ratings

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The Nanny Diaries: A Novel

by Emma Mclaughlin, Nicola Kraus

St. Martin's Press | November 29, 2005 | Mass Market Paperbound

WANTED:
One young woman to take care of a four-year-old boy.
Must be bordering on masochistic.
Must relish sixteen-hour shifts with a nap-deprived pre-schooler.
Must love getting thrown up on, literally and figuratively, by everyone in his family
Mostly, must love being treated like fungus found growing out of employers Hermès bag.
Those who take it personally need not apply.

Who wouldn''t want this job?

Nanny is a struggling grad student with no visible piercings. Mrs. X, of Park Avenue, doesn''t work, clean, cook, or raise her own child. She makes appointments and lists. Nanny needs a job. Mrs. X needs someone accommodating. Nanny and Mrs. X need each other. In return, Nanny is subjected to erratic shifts, irregular paychecks, and the sullen moods of her four-year-old charge. Sentenced to every play date known to Central Park, and every gourmet-snack run she can handle, Nanny needs a diversion that an afternoon martini can''t fulfill. Then she discovers a secret about Mr. X. Navigating a marriage on the rocks and the increasingly paranoid, impossibly demanding attitude of her employer, Nanny is redefining servitude. Because now, Nanny has something worth more than Mrs. X''s ill-fitting Prada castoffs as a thankless bonus.
Nanny''s acquiring the power of revenge.

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Reviews

    • Was this review
      helpful to you?

    Rating: 2/5

    Crazy life of New York caregiver

    VWrulesChick

    3 months ago

    It took me only a couple hours to read and finish this book, not a hard read. About Nan who is a full-time student at NYU in Early Childhood Development studies, while she gets a position as a part-time (but more like full-time and then some) caregiver to Grayer to a Manhattan family. The mother and the father seem to be at ends with each other and Nan just gets stuck in the middle of it all. Reminded me when I used to babysit kids when I was younger for many years, but nothing like Mr. and Mrs. X and their cohorts

    This reviewer also recommends:
    • Was this review
      helpful to you?

    Rating: 5/5

    Great

    Alex

    3 years ago

    The character was very simple, the names were even simpler, and the relationships that the character had were just mentioned in passing (basically). But that's what I loved about it. The authors simplified everything, because the story wasn't about her and her boyfriend, the story was about her love for the boy she looked after. PERIOD. If you're looking for flashy endings, and the character mouthing off, then this book will be wasted on you! It was very real and very fun to read.

    • Was this review
      helpful to you?

    Rating: 3/5

    Hoping for more from the film...

    Slightly Devious

    • Top Book Reviewer

    4 years ago

    Funny - Devil Wears Prada (horrible boss w/expensive taste) with a kid on top. If you've ever had a nightmare boss/job then this is a good read. However, calling the main character Nanny and the parents Mr. & Mrs. X just seemed out of place to me. I just felt like there was something missing. I'm hoping the movie will make up for this.

    • Was this review
      helpful to you?
    Trish

    Rating: 1/5

    this is not getting any space on my bookshelf

    Trish

    8 years ago

    I could not wait to finish this book, just to see if by the ending, the authors would redeem themselves. I found The Nanny Diaries to be horribly written, with weak characters I cared little about (especially Nanny), cliched and meaningless dialogue, and trite situations. And by the end, I was left unsatisfied and caring less for the heroine, as it was just a big fat cop-out.

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Details

From the Publisher

WANTED:
One young woman to take care of a four-year-old boy.
Must be bordering on masochistic.
Must relish sixteen-hour shifts with a nap-deprived pre-schooler.
Must love getting thrown up on, literally and figuratively, by everyone in his family
Mostly, must love being treated like fungus found growing out of employers Hermès bag.
Those who take it personally need not apply.

Who wouldn''t want this job?

Nanny is a struggling grad student with no visible piercings. Mrs. X, of Park Avenue, doesn''t work, clean, cook, or raise her own child. She makes appointments and lists. Nanny needs a job. Mrs. X needs someone accommodating. Nanny and Mrs. X need each other. In return, Nanny is subjected to erratic shifts, irregular paychecks, and the sullen moods of her four-year-old charge. Sentenced to every play date known to Central Park, and every gourmet-snack run she can handle, Nanny needs a diversion that an afternoon martini can''t fulfill. Then she discovers a secret about Mr. X. Navigating a marriage on the rocks and the increasingly paranoid, impossibly demanding attitude of her employer, Nanny is redefining servitude. Because now, Nanny has something worth more than Mrs. X''s ill-fitting Prada castoffs as a thankless bonus.
Nanny''s acquiring the power of revenge.

From the Jacket

WANTED:
One young woman to take care of a four-year-old boy.
Must be bordering on masochistic.
Must relish sixteen-hour shifts with a nap-deprived pre-schooler.
Must love getting thrown up on, literally and figuratively, by everyone in his family
Mostly, must love being treated like fungus found growing out of employers Hermès bag.
Those who take it personally need not apply.

Who wouldn't want this job?

Nanny is a struggling grad student with no visible piercings. Mrs. X, of Park Avenue, doesn't work, clean, cook, or raise her own child. She makes appointments and lists. Nanny needs a job. Mrs. X needs someone accommodating. Nanny and Mrs. X need each other. In return, Nanny is subjected to erratic shifts, irregular paychecks, and the sullen moods of her four-year-old charge. Sentenced to every play date known to Central Park, and every gourmet-snack run she can handle, Nanny needs a diversion that an afternoon martini can't fulfill. Then she discovers a secret about Mr. X. Navigating a marriage on the rocks and the increasingly paranoid, impossibly demanding attitude of her employer, Nanny is redefining servitude. Because now, Nanny has something worth more than Mrs. X's ill-fitting Prada castoffs as a thankless bonus.
Nanny's acquiring the power of revenge…

"A national phenomenon."
-Newsweek

"[Nanny is] Mary Poppins channeling Dorothy Parker."-Time

About the Author

NICOLA KRAUS and EMMA MCLAUGHLIN reside in New York City. They are no longer nannies.

Mass Market Paperbound

384 Pages, 4.25 x 6.7 x 1.03 in

November 29, 2005

St. Martin's Press

English


0312983077
9780312983079

From the Critics

"Sorry, Madam, but your worst nightmare has arrived. It appears that the help has been taking notes, and good ones." -Janet Maslin, The New York Times

"A hilarious, scathing tale of upper-crust child-rearing practices that must have their former employers squirming." -People

"Mary Poppins channeling Dorothy Parker" -Time

"Reading [The Nanny Diaries] was an incredibly compelling voyeuristic thrill. Getting a glimpse behind the thick stone walls of those Park Avenue apartment buildings and into the excessively rich families who live in them (how much childcare help they have (a lot); how badly they treat their help (badly, very badly) how often these children see their actual parents (almost never) ) is fascinating and, at times, impossibly funny." -Laura Zigman, author of Dating Big Bird

"The Bonfire of the Vanities meets Mary Poppins in this hilarious look at life as a nanny to the rich and famous. The twenty-six-year-old authors have perfect pitch, and their every observation rings true. The Nany Diaries is social satire that''s as moving as it is funny." -Jane Heller, author of Lucky Stars

"You don''t have to be a Park Avenue nanny or Park Avenue mommy to savor this first novel by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus....The young authors have charted the twisting currents of love, snobbery, and inter-dependence with a sophistication and wit that anyone can enjoy....This upstairs/downstairs story set in New York, is a class act." -Laura Shaine Cunningham, author of The Midnight Diary of Zoya Blume

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