BY CATHERINE ARMITSTEAD

 

True-life, amusing and quirky letters from a 20-year-old nanny, working in London for the first time.

Nina reports back to her sister about the eccentric and literary family that she is lodging with.

The family is captured in snapshots of dialogue and anecdotes. We meet Mary-Kay, a writer, and her precocious but likeable sons, Sam and Will. Nina fits in well, as the family members tease and play jokes on one another.

The two young boys are mature for their age. They talk about their political leanings at election time but there are also childlike incidents, such as Will making home-made gum from Blu-tack and toothpaste.

Visitors to the household comprise a list of famous and literary figures. However, the author is not name-dropping to impress. Nina does not know how eminent these guests are. She thought their most regular guest, Alan Bennett, had appeared in Coronation Street.

AB is portrayed brilliantly and becomes the hero of the piece. His practical knowledge helps mend the fridge and revive dead flowers. Nina calls him over when she thinks she hears an intruder. There is warm humour as he interacts with the family at mealtimes, meets Nina’s elderly relatives and coaches a fellow-nanny practising a melodramatic piece for an audition.

Nina herself is relaxed and bohemian, as she walks and drives bare-foot, and sports a disastrous eighties haircut. She is not afraid to reveal her own mistakes and embarrassments. When MK employs someone to clean, Nina feels “guilty/annoyed”, although she admits that she has done little more around the house than wash up the cat’s bowl.

We enjoy hearing about her experiments with meals, which she has to concoct with turkey mince. She competes with AB over coleslaw, not liking him criticising her use of salad cream and tinned oranges.

The literary theme is expanded upon later in the book as Nina enrols on courses, studying novels and poetry. Again, she is charming and funny, telling the family that she scored a C for her A level, rather than an E, so as not to spoil the holiday mood.

We are reminded of the fun and excitement of being away from home for the first time, studying and meeting new people. There are descriptions of fellow classmates, such as Stella, who does not read the set texts until she develops a crush on a lecturer, and manages to cajole Nina into helping her dye her hair a freakish, “chick-like” orange.

The book is so well-written and comic that you marvel at the brilliance of what were originally just private letters. Nina thinks that sometimes writing about events makes them sound different or not as you intended. She concludes that “in the end writing wins”. It does in this case. Her writing has produced a wonderfully entertaining book.

 

This book was published by Penguin and is available to buy for £8.99. It can also be borrowed from The Hive as well as other Worcestershire libraries. Click here to check availability and check it out.