18th out of 34 books
—
96 voters
What The Nanny Saw
by
Fiona Neill
It's the summer of 2008. For the past decade Nick and Bryony Skinner and their four children have ridden high on the economic boom, but their luck is about to run out. Suddenly, the privileged family finds itself at the center of a financial scandal:
their Central London house is besieged by the press, Nick disappears, and Bryony and the children become virtual prisoners in...more
their Central London house is besieged by the press, Nick disappears, and Bryony and the children become virtual prisoners in...more
Paperback, 548 pages
Published
August 18th 2011
by Penguin
(first published January 1st 2011)
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Neill, Fiona. What the Nanny Saw. Unabridged. 13 CDs. 16 Hours. Tantor. 2013. ISBN: 978-1-4526-0894-5. $44.99. F
When Ali adds up her school debt and her affair with her married tutor it equals not continuing in University. She takes a job as nanny for wealthy, privileged Nick and Bryony Skinner. She must become accustomed to being treated with courtesy and generosity one minute, and then being overlooked or forgotten the next. As the 2008-9 financial crisis hits all over the world, Ali witnesses...more
When Ali adds up her school debt and her affair with her married tutor it equals not continuing in University. She takes a job as nanny for wealthy, privileged Nick and Bryony Skinner. She must become accustomed to being treated with courtesy and generosity one minute, and then being overlooked or forgotten the next. As the 2008-9 financial crisis hits all over the world, Ali witnesses...more
At first glance you might think that this book is another story of a young female being overworked while caring for privileged children of rich snobby parents, ala The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin. But if you keep up with this story you come across a much deeper read that involves the 2008 banking crises, family interactions and even the theme of trust and loyalty.
Nick Skinner is the managing director of an investment bank connected with a major US investment bank. Bryony owns a financial pu...more
Nick Skinner is the managing director of an investment bank connected with a major US investment bank. Bryony owns a financial pu...more
When I began reading What the Nanny Saw I wasn’t overly impressed or bowled away by the first few chapters. It seemed slow to start and only mildly interesting. However, as I delved deeper into the book, I found it harder and harder to put down. The plot was absolutely compelling.
If I were to rate this book on character development alone, I would probably give it a two. While the story is rich with characters, I found that I was indifferent to them. The main character Ali is the nanny who sees a...more
If I were to rate this book on character development alone, I would probably give it a two. While the story is rich with characters, I found that I was indifferent to them. The main character Ali is the nanny who sees a...more
There has been a lot of commentary recently about chick lit and its place in the literary spectrum - with What the Nanny Saw, Fiona Neill makes a beautiful riposte. It has all the components of a chick lit novel - over-the-top characters, a slightly contrived situation, a romance that you can see coming - but places them within a fiercely intelligent story examining the minutiae of scandal, finance and the media.
On the face of it, we are reading about Ali Sparrow and her attempts to play the par...more
On the face of it, we are reading about Ali Sparrow and her attempts to play the par...more
For a 450 page book, I was not overly impressed. While I did finish the entire thing, I feel like it was way too drawn out, and there were many details that related to the financial crisis aspect of the story that should have been drawn out more than others. I feel like there were some parts of the book that didn't necessarily belong in the text and I found myself questioning why they were included. While the story is supposed to be about the credit crisis and its effect on the Skinner family (a...more
When Ali accepts a job as nanny to high-powered London couple Nick & Bryony as a way to earn money to finish her degree, she gets herself into a situation much more complicated than could have been anticipated. She is absorbed into the machinations of this super-wealthy and well-connected, but inevitably dysfunctional family. Then husband Nick becomes embroiled in a banking scandal and the family, already on shaky ground, unravels further. As an intimate to the family and the only one outsid...more
What the Nanny Saw gives an intimate, indepth look at the world of high finance in 2008 London from the perspective of a nanny in the home of an investment banker, Nick Skinner and his wife, Bryony, owner of her own PR company. Their life of privilege includes a five-story house in the best section of London, private schools for their four chiildren, summer house in Greece, live-in staff, and extravagant purchases, and a dinner party where Elton John entertains. When Ali is hired as nanny to the...more
It was a tossup for me deciding whether to give this 2 or 3 stars. I'm actually not sure why I even finished this book. The story was okay, predictably about the life of a governess to the children of a British family whose father was employed by Lehman Bros. during the banking crisis. The opening of the book reveals that there's been a financial catastrophe in the family, and then jumps back to the beginning of Ali's employment and the unfolding of how the family gets to the point of crisis. Th...more
I'd like to give this book two and half stars. It was part way between being okay and liking it. Some parts I did like, others I didn't. It was however, an intelligent read and well written, just some of the characters that didn't work for me.
It's the story of Ali - a bright English student who goes to work as a nanny for a very rich family. The family come unstuck in the financial crisis of a few years ago and the novel builds the reader up for the fall of Lehmans. BUT - I didn't really find a...more
It's the story of Ali - a bright English student who goes to work as a nanny for a very rich family. The family come unstuck in the financial crisis of a few years ago and the novel builds the reader up for the fall of Lehmans. BUT - I didn't really find a...more
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First let me say, I'm in love with the cover of this book. I used to have shoes very similar to those and I miss them so much! The cheeky red slippers, the proper but fabulous navy skirt, the slightly nervously turned in toes...it's all very evocative. I was picturing an equally cheeky and fabulous confessional-style novel about class structure within a domestic household, and maybe even a little mystery. It was...well...some of that, but maybe not as much...more
First let me say, I'm in love with the cover of this book. I used to have shoes very similar to those and I miss them so much! The cheeky red slippers, the proper but fabulous navy skirt, the slightly nervously turned in toes...it's all very evocative. I was picturing an equally cheeky and fabulous confessional-style novel about class structure within a domestic household, and maybe even a little mystery. It was...well...some of that, but maybe not as much...more
I have to agree with the last reviewer. It did start slowly, until I realized I was completely caught up in it. I just finished the second chapter. Wow! I am listening to this in audio, and this (Tantor Audio) version has a British narrator (Alison Larkin), which really brings me into the story. Two reasons it seems to start slowly are that there is little dialogue and a lot of the nanny's observations and inner voice. However, this is exactly what draws you in. Beyond the Upstairs/Downstairs dy...more
I really liked this book. It takes place in London during the financial meltdown of 2008. The nanny in the title takes a job with an incredibly rich, flashy family who have more money than sense. The husband works for Lehman's and the wife has a financial PR firm. The nanny has to learn to deal with young twin boys who are extraordinarily close to one another, a young teen girl and an older teen boy, not to mention the wife's parents. She's never been a nanny before so she depends on the advice...more
Mar 10, 2013
Katie Mcsweeney
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
brain-candy,
interesting
This is a hard one to rate and review... I had the book for a year and never bothered reading beyond the first two or three pages. Last night I read the first chapter and then just kept on reading until it was 8.30 am and the book was done. I'm not sure if I would have picked it up again the next day to keep reading if I had stopped... I read the whole thing and I enjoyed it but it didn't tickle my pickle. It was very well written and I enjoyed the characters and the story. All the elements were...more
I received an advanced reading copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway. At first I thought it was going to be the British version of "The Nanny Diaries" and just a fun summer read. A few chapters in, however, I realized this was more substantial. I cared a lot about what was happening with these characters. I thought Ali, the narrator and title character, was a bit underdeveloped in comparison to the rest of the characters, but overall was well-portrayed. I found myself wanting to get bac...more
May 15, 2013
Su Nita
added it
Don't know where my other review got to... This book was way better than The Nanny Diaries which felt very disjointed to me. Both books gave me the impression of contrived plot-lines. The protagonists in both books are at school, working part-time as Nannies to pay their way through college.
So, even though What the Nanny Saw was quite interesting and cruelly funny at times, it never gave me a good reason why Ali should stick at what she's doing- except for her soppy good nature. Though the smal...more
So, even though What the Nanny Saw was quite interesting and cruelly funny at times, it never gave me a good reason why Ali should stick at what she's doing- except for her soppy good nature. Though the smal...more
This novel was not what I expected. I think I was anticipating something a little more humorous, more like The Nanny Diaries, perhaps, but this is instead a bit heavier. I did like this book, especially the characterization of Foy Chesterton. If nannies are supposed to be unobtrusive, then Ali fits the bill, as I didn't really get a strong sense of personality from her. Sure, she cares about the kids, but she's more of just an observer drifting through life. The Skinners definitely are the focus...more
"What the Nanny Saw" is a book that I have won through the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway.
The book started out a little slow and took me a while to really get into it. The nanny, Ali, is hired to take care of 4 children for Nick and Bryony Skinner. Ali is taken into their confidences somewhat and she feels comfortable taking care of their children; although they can get to be a handful sometimes. This privileged and wealthy family becomes the center of a financial crisis. Scandal is following th...more
The book started out a little slow and took me a while to really get into it. The nanny, Ali, is hired to take care of 4 children for Nick and Bryony Skinner. Ali is taken into their confidences somewhat and she feels comfortable taking care of their children; although they can get to be a handful sometimes. This privileged and wealthy family becomes the center of a financial crisis. Scandal is following th...more
I'm always a sucker for British nanny and boarding school tales and this is a modern-day tale of a nanny who comes to live with a very wealth family in London and finds herself both enthralled with the family but also dismayed by their choices. Everything comes to a head with the collapse of the financial system in 2008 and the husband is being investigated for insider trading. Everyone wants to know what the nanny knows as she is the one person in the household who is always around but often fo...more
This was an interesting story of a well-to-do English family who get caught up in the recent banking crisis. Ali, the nanny, tells the story of the family and her involvement with them and it's a fascinating expose of the way someone in her position is often treated with the family blowing hot and cold as regards to her. I did find the financial details overwhelming at times - possibly because it's not a subject which interests me in the first place! The children were well-developed characters t...more
I won this in a Goodreads giveaway. I agree with other reviewers that it was slow-starting at first. I hung in there because the subject matter interested me (although I would have been fine with a lot less financial details). I was very annoyed about halfway through the book when a background story showed up out of nowhere for Ali which seemed totally out of character for her. I thought it did nothing for the book, and if it had to be included, should have been at the start.
I finished it but i...more
I finished it but i...more
Chosen as something light and easy to read whilst ill, it's actually quite annoying. There is a lot of clumsy exposition, written as if the characters were saying it in 2006, about matters that would be involved in the financial crisis in 2008. Ali (the nanny and main character) isn't terribly believable as a 23-year old student ... I get the feeling she's mostly just a vehicle for what the author would do in the situation. The spelling of her name can be confusing to the flow of the story, as i...more
20 something Ali takes a break from university to earn more money for the rest of her education, finding a nanny job employed by the Skinners, a nouveau riche public relations and financial couple in London in 2006. This book is about her eye opening adjustment to their privileged world after a childhood on the north England coast in a working class famly, their business and personal relationships with each other and the financial meltdown of late 2000's.
Another intelligent chick lit book that,...more
Another intelligent chick lit book that,...more
I picked this up during a stressful period thinking it would be a light, escapist read. It proved much meatier both in substance and length (I read it on Kindle) than I'd thought. And ultimately, therefore, more memorable and enjoyable. The story of the Skinners, a family of almost limitless wealth and potential, is told from a Rosencranz-and-Gildenstern-like point of view through their nanny, Ali Sparrow. It provides an insider look at the 2008 banking crisis, told with wit and intelligence. Ye...more
This book was an OK read, though the main character Ali was not very believable and I felt the author was using the characters in her own way, rather than staying true to them as "individuals" if that makes sense. It was one of those books that you kind of feel you have read before as it has many cliches, but its an OK "switch your brain off" type of read. However, I have to say that whilst I am not a prude, I do hate the use of the "c" word (the 4 letter one!) in a book, and it lent nothing to...more
I enjoyed this behind-the-scenes look at an ultra-rich household. I expected a light novel peeking into the staff's lives, but it was much more than that. It shows that the rich really are different than the rest of us. They can be so obsessed with making more money and acquiring possessions that a family life is forfeited, sometimes for years. More specifically, this family is taken down in the economy bust and their family is shattered. I seem to be on a trend this year reading books about how...more
I didn't love this book, but was compelled to finish none the less... What DID the Nanny see? I was terribly disappointed with the ending of this book. Ali became a faithful family nanny, and stayed with this family, even through trying times. She certainly was in no way rewarded for what she gave up... Ali was a very lonely, working for this demanding household, and though compensated with money, there were many expectations placed upon her, at only 23 years old. There was so much description a...more
I appreciated the writing and the story line. At times I wished there was a bit more tension in the story to move it along. I am glad it had the foreshadowing in the beginning of the arrest and her providing information to a reporter or it may not have kept me intrigued until the end. In the end I was glad that I finished it and felt that the ending was realistic. I did find all the literary references a bit strange (or maybe just a bit over done. She was a literature major but that along with t...more
Wow did this book start out slowly! It started with one of my least-favorite technique - starting basically in the present in mid-stream, discussing people and situations that we have no understanding of yet. And the characters are the housing market finance collapse, which also just sounds awful and boring. But as the story goes on, if you can struggle through the beginning long enough to learn more about the characters, I found myself drawn in. I enjoyed it in the end.
I thought I would enjoy this novel more than I did. Often, it was work pushing through and I believe this was mainly because most of the characters (even the children) were not very likable to me. Ali Sparrow is the nanny to a very affluent London family with four children - two teenagers and a set of five year old twins. An illegal trading scandal involving both parents occurs and it sets a series of events into action winding down with "What the Nanny Saw." It was not predictable and anyone wi...more
Any fans of Slummy Mummy will likely enjoy this book as well. Once again Ms. Neill takes a weighty topic and infuses humor and humanness to make it very accessible.
Although this book was slow-paced, I still enjoyed it quite a lot. I felt like the pacing was somewhat deliberate in that it really steeped you in the world in which this story takes place and it was a long burn up to a big melt-down which was exactly how things seem to go back in 2008. Despite this being a rather serious story, humor...more
Although this book was slow-paced, I still enjoyed it quite a lot. I felt like the pacing was somewhat deliberate in that it really steeped you in the world in which this story takes place and it was a long burn up to a big melt-down which was exactly how things seem to go back in 2008. Despite this being a rather serious story, humor...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very true to life! | 2 | 6 | Mar 28, 2013 07:29am |
Fiona Neill is a novelist and journalist. She was born in 1966. Her first novel The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy, based on her column in The Times Magazine every Saturday, was published in 2007. It was widely acclaimed and went on to become a Sunday Times bestseller that sold in twenty-five countries.
Brought up in Norfolk, she now lives in London with her husband and three children.
Fiona is pres...more
More about Fiona Neill...
Brought up in Norfolk, she now lives in London with her husband and three children.
Fiona is pres...more
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