by Emma McLaughlin, Nicola Kraus
|
| List Price: | $13.95 |
| Average Rating: |  |
| Lowest New Price: | $3.62 |
|
 |
|
Product Description
Nan, in her early twenties, goes to work for the wealthy X family to help put herself through college, and is shocked by their antics. Between raising the X's son Grayer, keeping on top of her studies, moving house and ensuring Mrs X's day runs smoothly, it's a wonder Nanny ever finds time to hang out with the gorgeous HH on the sixth floor. With divorce on the cards, Nanny finds herself caught up in the X's embittered world of power plays, lies and deciet. As communication rapidly breaks down, will Nanny be able to maintain the mental health of Grayer, despite the onslaught of Personal Problem Consultants, macrobiotic nutritionist and bilingual meals?
Amazon.com Review
The Nanny Diaries is an absolutely addictive peek into the utterly weird world of child rearing in the upper reaches of Manhattan's social strata. Cowritten by two former nannies, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, the novel follows the adventures of the aptly named Nan as she negotiates the Byzantine byways of working for Mrs. X, a Park Avenue mommy. Nan's 4-year-old charge, the hilariously named Grayer (his pals include Josephina, Christabelle, Brandford, and Darwin) is a genuinely good sort. He can't help it if his mom has scheduled him for every activity known to the Upper East Side, including ice skating, French lessons, and a Mommy and Me group largely attended by nannies. What makes the book so impossible to put down is the suspense of finding out what the unbelievably inconsiderate Mrs. X will demand of Nan next. One pictures the two authors having the last hearty laugh on their former employers. --Claire Dederer
Customers who bought this item also bought
Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 It had potential, 2008-12-05
I bought this book through a book club when it first came out. There was so much hype and I'd seen the authors on an interview show. Seemed like the premise for an entertaining read. Well, it had potential but I felt it really fell short. You take a nanny job with a family who lives in a gazillion dollar place on the Upper East Side. They're too busy to deal with their own darlings. What do you expect them to be like?
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Great Book, 2008-11-08
I found this book to be funny.
It is a story about Nanny who meets Mrs. X and becomes the Nanny to Mrs. X's son Greer Addison whom Nanny soon calls Grover. Over the next couple of months Nanny must juggle the responsibilities of school, Greer, and her personal life leading to some funny moments in the book.
There is only one this that I did not like about the book-the names. It was weird that the main character went by a profession and that while the boy she babysat for had a first a middle name, his parents were Mr and Mrs. X. I don't feel that it would have taken away from the book to have the main character call herself something else or give the X's last names (and maybe say that the name is not their real last name)
Over all though this is a very good entertaining book with some really great characters.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 A valuable story to tell, 2008-09-28
The story in this book has tremendous value in a world that has become obsessed with money, celebraties, the corporate ladder. It highlights (in a gentle, humorous manner - that helps to keep the reader interested) that money cannot buy happiness,love,personal fulfillment.It is an xcellent book for teenagers to read - one that can stimulate discussion about modern day value systems,family disintegration and the all-too-often-negative ripple effects of so called corporate "success". Well done to the two authors. An enjoyable and educational read.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
So good... at the end you really want to follow up on the characters, 2008-09-23
A great book. A page turner. When it ends, I would love to know what happen to the X's and Grayer.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
 Unclean! Unclean!, 2008-09-10
I purchased the Nanny Diaries because of such high recommendations from Amazon.com readers. The book is recommended (along with other representatives of the chick-lit genre) in books and blogs about writing for that market. Other novels recommended this highly both for entertainment and study have all met the standards I expected, with characters I readily embraced and a quick-moving and witty story line.
Where did The Nanny Diaries go wrong?
In my estimation, it was a veritable leper-colony of a book filled with characters so morally bankrupt and unfeeling that I had to force myself to finish it. They were not cold in the cardboard manner of a cartoonish and laughable character. They were real enough to be outrageously disgusting, and were made so by the presence of Grayer, a total innocent and pawn of these polymorphous perverse narcissists.
The book's "payoff" of a scene where Nanny delivers a rant into the nanny-cam in the family's empty apartment is funny and well-written. However, the entire time I was reading it -- and I went through it twice to give it an honest evaluation -- I could only think of that innocent boy screaming for his Nanny as she was driven away from the house by his indifferent father.
If you're looking for a novel that will leave you depressed for days afterward, The Nanny Diaries is for you. If you are looking for a novel to examine as a model of literary skill, look elsewhere. Just stay away!
Price is accurate as of the date/time indicated. Prices and product availability are subject to change. Any price displayed on the Amazon website at the time of purchase will govern the sale of this product.
|
Store Categories
|