A New York Times BestsellerStruggling 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 Xes' marriage begins to disintegrate, Nanny ends up involved way beyond the bounds of human decency. Her tenure with the X family becomes an impossible mission to maintain the ...
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A New York Times BestsellerStruggling 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 Xes' marriage begins to disintegrate, Nanny ends up involved way beyond the bounds of human decency. Her tenure with the X family becomes an impossible mission to maintain the mental health of their four year old, her own integrity and, most important, her sense of humor. Over nine tense months Mrs. X and Nanny perform the age-old dance of decorum and power.
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Nanny works as a nanny to help make ends meet while she's finishing college. She's been a nanny before so she is familiar with the territory but nothing prepares for the Xes. The Xes are a typical upper class family in NYC where the Husband is always "working" , the mother is always shopping or planning events and the child, Grayer in this case, is left to be raised by the nanny. The book was well written but at times a bit on the depressing side. You couldn't help but be angry at nanny for allowing herself to be such a pushover and you couldn't help but feel sorry for Grayer. But there were some really funny scenes and even scenes where Mrs. X seems almost human. All in all it was an enjoyable read. I read this for my face to face book club and the whole group really enjoyed the book. We had some good discussions on Why Nanny would stay in this environment for so long and how Grayer would be as an adult.
djesquire
Jun 9, 2009
Funny, tongue in cheek book
This book was so funny! It makes me feel like a great mom! While Nanny raises the child, Dad makes million dollar deals, has affairs, and ignores his family. Mom worries about finding the perfect lavender water, treats nanny like a piece of furniture, and makes extremely unreasonable demands. I like sarcasm so I thought this was really funny!
Kitt
Oct 25, 2007
Enjoyed reading this book, although it's really sad to think that some people live like this. So superficial and self absorbed. Why they have children is a mystery since they really don't have time for them.... The authors claim that the book is fiction but from the amount of experience they have as a nanny probably the only fiction in this book is the name of the subjects they write about......
zzzzz
Oct 4, 2007
Very good book!
I expected this book to be entertaining and funny, which it was... . The writers';ability to reproduce jargon of all sorts is hilarious. At the same time this book provides an almost Dickensonian view of adults vs children, only ironically in situations which should provide almost every advantage to the child. The point of view of the nannies is revealing. So much power, and yet so little!... Sorry, even if you just want entertainment, it will force you to think! This is a high quality piece of writing.
