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The Nanny Diaries  By  cover art

The Nanny Diaries

By: Emma McLaughlin, Nicola Kraus
Narrated by: Julia Roberts
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Publisher's summary

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 Xes' 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 important, 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.

The Nanny Diaries deftly skewers the manner in which America's overprivileged raise les petites overprivileged - as if grooming them for a Best in Show competition. Written by two former nannies, this alternately comic and poignant satire punctures the glamour of Manhattan's upper class.

©2002 Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus (P)2002 Random House Inc., Random House Audio, a Division of Random House Inc.

Critic reviews

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

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

What listeners say about The Nanny Diaries

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    198
  • 4 Stars
    211
  • 3 Stars
    128
  • 2 Stars
    60
  • 1 Stars
    27
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    65
  • 4 Stars
    25
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
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Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    57
  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Depressing

There is not enough humor in this book to be considered satire. It comes off as resentful and depressing. The whole nanny situation seems a sad state of affairs.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Bitter

I expected to find the story entertaining, but instead I found it depressing and bitter. The quality of the reading (Julia Roberts) and recording were good.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

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.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Julia Roberts doesn't cut it.

This book is nothing remarkable, but it's made MUCH worse by Julia Roberts' flat narration. Her attempts to speak like a child are absolutely horrible and make your skin crawl. I'd read it rather than listen to it.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

The Nanny Diaries

I really like this book. I'm usually a mystery reader but I thought I'd try something different. Julia Roberts did a great job with reading. You want something different - try this!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great

Great light reading---kept me on the road and driving through those wee morning hours. Very entertaining.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Great Story, but narration drones

The story is very fun, but Julia Roberts doesn't quite read it in any sort of believable way. It sounds like she is just rushing through it. Hardly any inflection. The story rings true of New York society and it's hilarious. Worth getting, but maybe you should read it.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Don't bother to finish it.

Everytime I think about this book, I kick myself for bothering to finish it. It was a whine-fest. An entire novel about a young woman too dumb to take control of a bad situation. Her idiocy and insipid personality are unbelievable and the story has not plot change, climactic moments or resolution.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A Nice Surprise. By a man...

I downloaded this book for my wife and ended up listening to it completely. As a parent I loved it, but the rich snotty class wont enjoy this book. If your a person who hires a nanny and treats them like this go read the comics. But if your a working class person its a good book to listen to and you wont wonder anymore why rich kids often grow up so messed up.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Horrible reading by Julia Roberts :-(

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Having a different reader

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Predictable

Would you be willing to try another one of Julia Roberts’s performances?

No way.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Nanny Diaries?

none

Any additional comments?

More character development of the narrator. Roberts read like she was reading to herself instead of to others. Of all the audio books I've listened to, she was by FAR the worst.

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1 person found this helpful