The Nanny Diaries
A Novel
by Nicola Kraus & Emma McLaughlin
List Price: $13.95
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0312291639
Publisher: Griffin Trade Paperback
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 Xs 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 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.
The Nanny Diaries deftly skewers the manner in which America's over-privileged raise les petites over-privileged-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.
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1. Why do you think the characters are never assigned real names?
2. Considering the harsh and fickle treatment Nan receives from Mrs. X, why do you think she stays with the family?
3. What kind of person do you think Grayer will grow up to be?
4. Why do you think that Nanny told Mrs. X about Mr. X's mistress before she left for good? Was it to protect her or was it for revenge?
5. If you were Nanny's family (parents, grandmother, boyfriend) would you support her decision to work for the X's? Consider her almost missing her graduation, her time constraints with finding a new apartment, as well as her emotional health and unfair compensation.
6. Would you have spoken your mind on the teddy bear tape recorder before leaving the X's household for good? Why do you think Nanny erased her initial outburst? How long would you be able to hold your tongue if found in a comparable work situation?
7. If you had the money that the X's had and could enrich your child's life with exotic foods, violin lessons, private schooling and French classes, would you and why? What do you think is appropriate for a child and what crosses the line?
8. How much responsibility should a nanny take in raising her employer's child?
9. Do you think Nanny will stay in the child-care profession after this experience?
10. Do you think this book is depressing or hopeful? How much is realistic vs. imaginary (a stretch) in your opinion?
11. If you employ domestic help, has this book changed your dialogue and/or view of that relationship? What rules of nannying would you require if you were hiring someone to take care of your child?
12. Why do you think this book has struck a cord with readers at this time?
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"...the wicked fascination of this novel lies in all the wacky tidbits about life in the social stratosphere....very funny..."
—New York Magazine
"Two former Manhattan nannies blow the lid off of the private child-care industry with a hilarious debut that pulls no punches as it recounts the travails of Nan, a hip Mary Poppins looking for a job to fit around her child-development classes at NYU...Required reading for parents and the women who they hire to do their parenting...thoroughly appealing..."
—Publishers Weekly
"First-novelists and former nannies McLaughlin and Kraus get the details right"
—Kirkus Reviews
"This is an inside story. The authors have both worked as nannies for well-to-do New Yorkers, and here they fictionalize their experiences to protect the innocent--and the guilty!"
—Library Journal
