Judas and Jezabel: The Tales of a New York Nanny by C.Y. Brown
This book, Judas and Jezabel: The Tales of a New York Nanny, is a fictional narrative from the point of view of an overworked nanny named Carol. It is set in the suburbs and goes to great lengths to show how money does not equal happiness in marriage, child raising, and life in general.
Carol’s first person account is the basis for the entire story. She has spent her life working as a nanny for a number of families, but it is not until she becomes employed by Conner and Sharon that her daily life and sanity begin to suffer. Carol is hired to watch the couple’s only child, a little girl named Cindy. She even moves away from her family, and into the couple’s lavish house to be of service. By living on-site, Carol quickly becomes the primary caregiver to Cindy, because Sharon is too busy having affairs and shopping to be a dedicated mother. Sharon also hates her spouse, Conner, and it is clear from early on in the book that she only married him for his money.
The language used by Sharon to describe her husband and their relationship is deplorable and degrading, yet Conner appears to always just take the verbal abuse and throw money at his psychotic wife. Neither parent cares much for their daughter and the story line was difficult to read at times due to the disrespectful name calling and irresponsible parental choices made by Sharon and Conner. Carol also struggles with handling Sharon’s mood swings and blames some of the problems on mental health issues (which is a serious topic, but was somewhat of a side-note in this fictional story.)
The book’s plot goes through the turmoil of a troubled marriage from start to divorce, and even beyond to continued lawsuits and legal grievances brought on by all parties. Carol feels a strong bond in caring for Cindy, and she worries what will happen to her if Carol does not stay working for at least one of her parents.
By the end of the book Carol is only working for Conner, but even that comes with huge strings attached as Conner manipulates her with promises of money in exchange for childcare, suing his ex-wife, and 24-7 on-call assistance with household needs. For awhile, Carol is forbidden to see Cindy, yet remains under Conner’s employment. This arrangement leaves Carol stressed and it is not long before she is seeking psychiatric treatment to handle all of the emotional distress caused by Conner and Sharon. From a reading perspective, it is unclear as to why the main character puts up with so many ridiculous demands and continually waits to be paid money when she is no longer even allowed to babysit or be a nanny to Cindy.
The book is a harsh story about how greed and power make rich people think they are above everyone else. Many lives are turned upside down by Conner and Sharon’s greed. Thankfully the prologue explains that this story was a work of fiction, however it was still disheartening to read about a scenario where two parents would care so little for their child. The author is definitely going for shock value, as a lot of derogatory remarks are made by the characters in order to showcase the anger and abuse they feel towards one another.
For more information regarding this book, click here or visit OnlineBookClub.org.