Sunday, July 24, 2016

Love, Nina: A Nanny Writes Home.


In 1982, 20 year old Nina Stibbe moved from the Midlands to North London and worked as a live in nanny for five years. Her boss, single mother Mary-Kay, moved in London's literary circles and was the Chief Editor of the London Review of Books. Nina'a charges were her two sons Will and Sam aged 9 and 10.

Love Nina is simply a collection of the letters that Nina Stibbe wrote to her sister Victoria describing her life during that time. While it's a charming and quirky book there's not a plot or even much of a story: the letters are mostly mundane observations of everyday London life or details of mealtime conversations. Simply written, it's almost like being a fly on the wall in a well to do English home in the 1980's.

This was an easy and quick read. I found it was the sort of book you could dip in and out of and there was something about it that made it very calming to read which I liked. It wasn't as funny as I was expecting but it does have amusing moments.

Overall, although I liked it, I didn't love it but I would consider reading the author's other books (which are novels based on her life) as I enjoyed her somewhat unique sparse style of writing.  

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