The Nanny Diaries

For the upper classes of Britain and Europe, the nanny has long been a vital part of the domestic scene; hence the references to Mary Poppins in this sparkling satire on a seriously rich way of life in New York. Rich as in money: spiritual values are pointedly shown to be in very short supply. Our narrator nanny soon becomes very attached to her four-year-old charge, Grayer, but also repelled by his parents, Mr and Mrs X, a spoiled and desperately selfish couple with an over-developed sense of entitlement: their own. Employees in the X menage are entitled to nothing, and are exploited as a matter of course. Nanny, however, shows herself to be a young woman of spirit as she contends with Mrs X in particular and with the world in general for the right to her own life. Like most effective and well-written satires, this book is based on sobering truths, while the humour, sometimes rollicking, often wry, overlies several messages of great importance. The authors make important points about the needs of children: no matter how disastrous the Xes are as parents, Grayer still loves and wants them, and Nanny often finds herself a supportive second-best. Children also need to be children, yet here we are shown tots being groomed for power almost from the cradle, with schedules almost as tight as their parents'. These same parents seem to regard the bearing of children as an important thing to achieve, but then have scant interest in rearing them, as well as a cavalier attitude to handing them over to strangers. Even though this entertaining book is a work of fiction, it is hardly surprising that Kraus and McLaughlin are no longer nannies. (Kirkus UK)