Book of the day: "The Nanny Diaries"

In honor of International Chick Lit Month and our one year blogoversary, we're bringing you a book a day (and then some). If you've read the book and want to comment on this post with your thoughts, please do. If you haven't read it yet, we hope you'll take interest in it after hearing our thoughts. To make this fun, anyone who comments on any of these posts has a chance to be entered in a drawing for a special prize. The more posts you comment on, the more chances to win! (See here for contest details.)


"The Nanny Diaries" by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus:
Wanted:

One young woman to take care of four-year-old boy. Must be cheerful, enthusiastic and selfless—bordering on masochistic. Must relish sixteen-hour shifts with a deliberately nap-deprived preschooler. Must love getting thrown up on, literally and figuratively, by everyone in his family. Must enjoy the delicious anticipation of ridiculously erratic pay. 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? Struggling to graduate from NYU and afford her microscopic studio apartment, Nanny takes a position caring for the only son of the wealthy X family. She rapidly learns the insane amount of juggling involved to ensure that a Park Avenue wife who doesn’t work, cook, clean, or raise her own child has a smooth day.

When the Xs marriage begins to disintegrate, Nanny ends up involved way beyond the bounds of human decency or good taste. Her tenure with the X family becomes a nearly impossible mission to maintain the mental health of their four-year-old, her own integrity and, most importantly, her sense of humor. Over nine tense months, Mrs. X and Nanny perform the age-old dance of decorum and power as they test the limits of modern-day servitude. (Summary courtesy of Goodreads.)

Melissa P:
I found this book to be extremely upsetting, but I also thought it was really good. I wanted to smack the mother of that poor little boy.

Melissa A:
I thought it was a fun read and Nanny was easy to sympathize with. I think it paved the way for books like "A Devil Wears Prada," where women have a completely crazy and stressful job situation. This story also translated well onto the big screen.


More by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus:

Book Review: Nanny Returns

By Melissa Amster

When I heard that there was a sequel to "The Nanny Diaries," I eagerly anticipated reading it as soon as I could get my hands on a copy. I finally received the opportunity to read it, but was left with mixed opinions.

After her employment with the X family was terminated, Nan moved overseas with her sweetheart (The Harvard Hottie) for the next twelve years. After returning to New York, she and her (now) husband find themselves living in a construction disaster zone. Her husband is away all the time and she's working for a school that doesn't have their act together. Meanwhile, Grayer X (her old charge) is now 16 and mixed up in the world of drugs and alcohol. He seeks her out to help him and his little brother, Stilton, while their parents are going through a messy divorce. It's not long before Nan finds herself dragged back into their drama.

What I liked about "Nanny Returns" was the creative way Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus decided to bring back the characters for some sort of twisted reunion. That as much as Nan wished to avoid the X's, she couldn't stay away for long. I liked how the stress levels escalated for Nan so quickly between her home, her job and her dealings with the X family's drama. The characters were colorful and the dialogue was comical. I especially liked the sarcastic responses going on in Nan's mind. The scenery and characters were well described and easy to visualize, as well.

Having said that, what didn't work for me, and what slowed down the reading process, was that I felt like I was dumped into the middle of a conversation and had no way to backtrack or keep up with what was going on. I had to read paragraphs and sentences several times to make sure I wasn't missing something crucial. I know some of this was to aid in Nan's confusion (such as with her job), but it threw off my momentum while reading the story and it took an extra effort to get through it so that I could enjoy the "meat and potatoes" at the heart of the story. While the writing seemed very sophisticated with lots of ten dollar words, it was a bit much for me.

Overall, it was a fun story and I liked not knowing what to expect. It was full of irony, as well. I liked Nan's relationship with the X boys and enjoyed seeing how she would handle each curveball that was sent her way. I think it's worth checking out, especially if you liked "The Nanny Diaries" as much as I did. And if you can explain to me what I was having trouble understanding, then more power to you.