The Nanny Diaries

By: Emma McLaughlin, Nicola Kraus

Narrated by: Julia Roberts

Read by Julia Roberts

Based on the real-life experiences, the inside story on the real lives of the rich and privileged from the women who know all the secrets - the nannies.

The Nanny Diaries deftly skewers the manner in which America's over-privileged raises les petites - as if grooming them for a Best of Show competition. A poignant satire, it punctures the glamor of Manhattan's upper class to tackle head-on the truer state of backstairs Park Avenue.

Struggling to graduate from NYU and afford her microscopic apartment, Nanny takes a job caring for the only son of the wealthy X family. She rapidly learns the insane amount of juggling involved in ensuring that a Park Avenue wife who doesn't work, cook, clean, or raise her own child has a smooth day.

When the X's marriage begins to disintegrate, Nanny's nearly impossible mission becomes maintaining 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.©2002 Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus; (P)2002 Random House Inc., Random House Audio, a Division of Random House Inc.

The Nanny Diaries

What a hoot. Light, funny, fast, quick. Simplistic but engaging character development, teensy but amusing plot, a chick-flick audio escape that is clever and funny.

A little flat

Somehow this inside look into Manhattan's elite fell a little flat. I attribute it to Julia Robert's narration: to me her voice verges on a monotone. Her characters all sounded the same and I longed for some good New York/Manhattan accents to bring the book alive.

Worth a listen for any parent

This story covers paints an ugly picture of the New York elite, who would rather spend time trying on Prada shoes than loving and raising their children. The heroine works hard at building a little boy's self worth while putting herself through graduate school.

The story tends to be funny and fast moving. It is hard not to fall in love with both Nanny and Grover.

However, it was difficult for me to get beyond underlying premise of parents not caring about their children -- is just too sad to imagine. Clearly a very one side view of the world written from the Nanny's perspective.

Julia Roberts does a nice job reading it. Although at times I did find it difficult to keep up with her fast pace.

I've loved this book for 15 years now.

I started listening to this book on C.D back in college and cried when the dics started to skip from my consistent listening; so when I started audible this was the first book I bought. Julia's way of reading the book has always kept me laughing, and has kept me sane. If I admit how many times I've listened to this, you might call me crazy.

Entertaining

Julia Roberts was a perfect choice to read this entertaining book. The story is in many ways heartbreaking but is told with wit and humor. I highly recommend it.