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The Nanny Diaries
by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
The Nanny Diaries is about the lifestyles of the rich and famous, the children who live with wealth not love, and the thankless nannies who pick up the pieces.
Wanted: One young woman to take care of 4-year-old boy. Must be cheerful, enthusiastic, and selfless --- bordering on masochistic. Must relish 16-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 employee's Hermes bag. Those who take it personally need not apply.
Nanny is a child psychology major at NYU, trying to finish her degree and make her monthly rent payments. She accepts a position with the incredibly affluent and superficial X family caring for their 4-year-old son, Grayer, for a few hours a week. What Nanny doesn't realize at first is that she has also signed on for the full-time care of Grayer's mother who doesn't cook, doesn't clean, doesn't work, doesn't do much of anything except shop for herself, schedule incredibly long days for her son and then neglect him.
An adulterous father brings added stress to the household, sending Mrs. X deeper into self-obsession and Nanny into crash-control mode. Why does Nanny continue to put up with the Xs' disregard for her life beyond their Park Ave. penthouse apartment? Down to earth and goodhearted, Nanny stays much longer than most would because she cares deeply about the fate of Grayer, who is surrounded by so much wealth and so little love. She'll do any number of demeaning tasks requested of her by Mrs. X because she sees the neglect of the Xs' son and wants to do something about it.
The Nanny Diaries is a remarkable, yet comical, social critique on the wealthy who look down upon apron-wearing and stroller-pushing help they've hired. The novel follows the trials and tribulations of those employed by the impossibly rich and privileged to watch their children.
Title: The Nanny Diaries
Author: Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 0312278586
Review written by: Alexandra Perich
Reviewer's Rating:7.5
Reader's Rating: 0
Reader's Votes: 0
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