From Catherine Given
Author: Nina Stibbe
Title: Love, Nina : a nanny writes home
Love, Nina: A Nanny Writes Home is a fun book full of quirky British humor about a 20-year-old’s early 1980’s adventures as a nanny in London. Nina’s story is told exclusively via letters she wrote to her sister, describing her adjustment to working for a single-Mom professor with two boys. Her deadpan play-by-play account of the boys’ obsessive over-examination of their lives is hilarious. Her pared-down, transcript style makes for a very intimate and quick energetic read.
Nina also recounts her everyday dealings and dinner conversations with literary luminaries including those of actor/director Alan Bennett. His wry and wittily avuncular interactions with Nina’s host family add extra spice to Nina’s musings.