The Nanny Diaries: I Feel So Cheated!

Posted by Charlene Prince Birkeland

I love books.

In my pre-mom days, I could spend entire weekends lazily reading around the house, and getting through an entire novel. But since I've had my sons, I rarely have time to lazily do anything.

I don't think I read a single book for fun (meaning, all my other reads were parenting-related books) until my oldest son was more than a year old. The book was The Dirty Girls Social Club by Alisa Valdes Rodriguez, one of my all-time favorite Chica Lit writers. I crawled into bed after the baby was asleep and picked up the book. I stayed awake all night reading it. And then I went to work on a few hours sleep. But unlike being up to the wee hours with a sick or crying baby, staying up all night to read a book -- a good book -- was invigorating. I was damned tired, but a good tired.

Since that night, this late-night reading scenario happens at least once a month, if not twice. It's a big deal, this staying-up-all-night-to-read when you have two kids ages five and under. There is hell to pay for me the next morning when they come charging into my bed ready for play time. But I'll do the time since I love a good read.

But there's a slight problem when I stay up all night only to find the book is a stinker.

I feel cheated.

I just finished the The Nanny Diaries by Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin. (It's not a new release by any account, but I'm still catching up on my fiction!) And let me tell you not only did I feel cheated, I was down right pissed off that I had wasted time reading it.

Before I picked up the book, I read the reviews of Nanny Diaries. The New York Times called it "diabolically funny," so I'm thinking, wow -- this has to be good, right? They even got Scarlett Johansson to star in the yet-to-be released movie. And I've had friends tell me it's a "must read." Sure, when you have lots of time on your hands. But when you read books in 8-hour marathon stretches, please, I beg of you, pass on The Nanny Diaries.

Why?

Because the characters and relationships are completely underdeveloped. There were no references to Nanny's background. I couldn't even paint a picture in my head of what Nanny looked like. I couldn't understand why a 21-year-old college student would allow herself to get so sucked into her employers life so much that she'd allow herself to be treated so poorly.

Each character is glossed over. Events and transitions in the book happen so quickly that I was left wondering what I’d missed. Was an entire chapter ripped out of my copy? Because clearly something must have happened in between the pages I was reading.

Sure, I could have tossed the book aside and cut my losses. But I don't play that way. Once I'm invested in the book, I'm going all the way to the bitter end. And in my book, The Nanny Diaries was definitely bitter.

The only saving grace for me was that I read the book on Friday night. I at least didn't have to wake up and go to work. But still.

I was cheated.

What book made you feel cheated? And when do you have time to read?

 

Comments

[Selfmademom]

Ok, I'm opposite of you. If I get 75 pages into a book and I don't like it, I stop reading it. I can't finish it just to finish it. I too hated the Nanny Diaries. Can we say trite? The book I feel cheated about? Uhm, A Million Little Pieces. But didn't everyone?

[Amy]

Char~
I thought I was the only person the the whole WORLD who didn't like this book. I literally cringed when I heard they were making it into a moive. I too, read the whole dang thing and was sorry I did. You should have asked, I would have warned you.

[Amanda]

I just stayed up on a Friday night myself and finished the Nanny Diaries. I had caught the title of you blog before I finished the book, but didn't read the post until I had actually finished the book. So I had an inkling that the book may not end well.

I agree, much like Andy in The Devil Wears Prada, I had no sympathy for the main character. She certainly seemed intelligent and could have found a job anywhere else. I know she loved Grayer, but what did she think would actually happen?

I don't get much time to read either. It was a nice distraction, but could have ended all the side stories much better.

What book also made me feel cheated? The Devil Wears Prada.

[last longer at sex]

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