The Nanny Diaries by Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin (2002)

In The Nanny Diaries two former nannies, Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin, have written a scathing attack on their chosen profession and those who employ them. Our heroine, twenty-one year old Nan, has been hired to look after the four year old son, Grayer, of a wealthy, successful couple, the Xes. The position is attractive, it fits in with her final year of college and she likes the child. The parents turn out to be dictatorial, increasing Nan’s responsibilities from part time child care to single handedly raising their child and running their personal errands. Blind to the needs of the young boy, the parents indulge in affairs and preoccupy themselves with work (Mr. X) or are simply negligent, refusing to accept the responsibilities of motherhood in favour of facials and shopping (Mrs. X). Nan attempts to balance her demanding workload with her personal life, including her eccentric (but comparably stable) family members and her romantic pursuit of the boy from upstairs burdened with the embarrassing moniker of Harvard Hottie.

At first Mrs. X’s demands are amusing, a little kooky, but quickly descend into madness. The excessive demands and lack of responsibility through Nan’s eyes, although written in a light tone, become really frustrating. Nan doesn’t want to leave because she doesn’t want to leave Grayer, who she has formed a real bond with, in the unloving family situation. After an unforgivably horrible holiday experience she does eventually leave, venting her frustrations to a secret nanny-cam Mrs. X has installed. She records over her initial vehement rant to leave a more careful message for the parents – doing this, while understandable, leaves a lot of necessary things unsaid. In all likelihood Mrs. X is going to treat the next nanny the same, and the next, and the next, and in doing so condemning Grayer to an unstable foundation. While Nanny is freed from the tyrannical reign of Mrs. X, what becomes of Grayer? A succession of nannies who leave without notice, a mother who refuses to take responsibility for him, a father who is emotionally and physically absent?

The story does leave a slightly bad taste, but for the most part it is a warm and amusing tale about the bonds between carer and child, however temporary. One just hopes that Grayer doesn’t turn out like those other Upper East Side children I’ve been reading about.

Tags: 2002, book review, December 2009, Emma McLaughlin, fiction, Nicola Kraus, The Nanny Diaries