The Nanny Diaries

By: Emma McLaughlin, Nicola Kraus

Narrated by: Kathe Mazur

Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

What do you do when you are a nanny to an obscenely rich Park Avenue matron named X? Mrs. X refuses to do anything for herself, including cook, clean, or take care of her 4-year-old son. You are expected to do everything, including maintaining the mental health of said 4-year-old, even while Mrs. X decides that it is time for a divorce. You'll have to bear up under the strain with wit and panache, even as the boundaries between your working life and your so-called private life blur, merge, and disappear. The symbiotic relationship between parent and nanny ensures that your life will be spent anticipating and fulfilling the needs of your charge and your employer. Have fun! The readers of this book certainly will.

©2002 Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus (P)2002 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Romantic Times Award Winner - Best Chick Lit Novel, 2002

"The Nanny Diaries is diabolically funny...vastly entertaining...perfectly pitched social satire." (The New York Times)

This book is the gospel truth

I was a nanny myself and yes this actually is not uncommon at all. Its actually scary how accurate this book is to most nannies lives. When people ask me what my experience was like as a nanny I tell them to read this book. I'm so glad they wrote this book. Maybe a few eyes will be opened.

good insight

I really like the way this read. . . but I am afraid to watch the movie. Having a daughter that was a nanny in the boston area I can totally relate to the stories and struggles.
Good read

Laughing out loud

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I was right there with Nan every step of the way. The performance was awesome and the narrator really brought the book to life. It was painful to listen to how the protagonist was being used by her employers. The story was well thought out and I felt like I was there in NYC on the Upper East Side.

Very Good

This was very good. I had listened to the abridged version narrated by Julia Roberts and it was good, but the unabridged includes so much more it was great. The narrator is not quite as good as Julia Roberts, but was quite good.

Heart warming...

I just finished this book... At the end I wanted More! I Love the realationship that is developed between the Nanny & child. Too bad the parents Suck!. Great Read! :-) I'm ready to see the movie...

Totally bored!

This was the most boring book I have ever listened to. Ugh. If you like listening to baby talk and whining you might like it...otherwise, find something else.

Well-written but entirely plotless

If you pick any random spot in the Nanny Diaries and listen for 10 minutes, you'll be entertained and want to hear more. The problem - these well written little scenes never go anywhere. They are tame little views into upper east side life and the life of a middle-class student working to support herself. The student/nanny (named, annoyingly, Nan) is good-hearted, the rich mother is mean, her husband, thoughtless and career-driven, and nothing changes during the course of the book. Zero character development. Don't expect a comedy as the trailers for the movie version of the book suggest. Its just cranky people bitching about their lives. Nan comes across as faintly masochistic for sticking around and by the time the end of the book shuffles around, you'll be ready to have her gone from your life.

No Nanny for Me

I throughly disliked this book. While it tried to come off as funny, in reality it showed us what pathetic parenting is out there.

Disappointed

I kept on thinking the book was going to get better; however,it never did. I was disappointed with this book.

Absolutely Awful

I have only myself to blame-plenty of reviews discussed how bad this book is. Hopefully my two cents will save others from wasting a credit.
There is no story here at all. It's a long diatribe on how awful the X family is, sprinkled with really tedious and not interesting snippets about Nan's school woes (getting a dissertation done), her family, an annoying roommate situation and a romantic interest. What's really frustrating is that the listener spends the entire book listening to how miserable the Nanny's situation is, and nothing happens to resolve things or make us feel like she got justice or learned something from the experience. It just ends! By the 2/3 mark, I hated all of the characters - the Xes for being jerks, the Nan for allowing herself to be treated so poorly. I only stuck it out hoping for an eventful ending. Totally unsatisfying. And a complete downer. (Interesting to note-the film adaptation, which was also not well reviewed, gave the story more of an ending and eliminated all of the distractions about school and roommates so at least someone with creative influence noticed the flaws in the story).
The narrator was also terrible. No range, impossible to tell who was speaking. And her droll voice just made this a bigger bummer.
Don't waste your time or money - that's 9 hours of my life I will never get back!!!