The Nanny Diaries

My cousin nannied her way around the globe. She told tales of living with rich families who adored her and would take her on their travels around the United States and Europe. Some had so many air points left over from all their travelling that they didn't have time to use themselves and therefore gifted them to her for her own personal travel. At the time, I was in the midst of teacher training and figured that, between teaching and nannying, my big OE would be sorted. It sounded like a good plan.

As it turns out, my OE didn't eventuate and now I'd consider my original plan to be a nightmare; while I'm still keen to travel, doing it that way is not something I'd like to try any time soon. Reading The Nanny Diaries (2002) confirms this: one would have to be mad to kowtow to the kinds of demands exerted by some of these characters, all in the name of having a family yet, in reality, not being interested in their children's lives at all. The novel by Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin is a fictitious take on their experiences in the nannying business. Many characters are portrayed as caricatures, probably taking their personalities to extremes. Still, better them than me.

This book is not much for thinking and won't provide any great academic stimulation. Apparently The Nanny Diaries (2007) has been made into a movie starring Scarlett Johanson; I'll happily give that one a miss. However, I'm laid up in bed this weekend with a bad back and this is the right kind of fluff to nibble on in between reading some more serious novels and biographies. Hopefully it will help to keep me sane during the next few days!