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  • Love, Nina

  • Despatches from Family Life
  • By: Nina Stibbe
  • Narrated by: Nina Stibbe
  • Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (526 ratings)
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Love, Nina cover art

Love, Nina

By: Nina Stibbe
Narrated by: Nina Stibbe
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Summary

In the 1980s, Nina Stibbe wrote letters home to her sister in Leicester describing her trials and triumphs as a nanny to a London family.

There’s a cat nobody likes, a visiting dog called Ted Hughes (Ted for short) and suppertime visits from a local playwright. Not to mention the two boys, their favourite football teams, and rude words, a very broad-minded mother and assorted nice chairs.

From the mystery of the unpaid milk bill and the avoidance of nuclear war to mealtime discussions on pie filler, the greats of English literature, swearing in German and sexually transmitted diseases, Love, Nina is a wonderful celebration of bad food, good company and the relative merits of Thomas Hardy and Enid Blyton.

At the age of 20, Nina Stibbe moved from Leicestershire to London to become a nanny. Later she studied at Thames Polytechnic and worked in publishing. She now lives in Cornwall with her partner and children.

©2013 Nina Stibbe (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“I adored this book, and I could quote from it forever. It’s real, odd, life-affirming, sharp, loving, and contains more than one reference to Arsenal FC” (Nick Hornby, The Believer)
"Adrian Mole meets Mary Poppins mashed up in literary north London... Enormous fun” ( Bookseller)
“What a beady eye she has for domestic life, and how deliciously fresh and funny she is” (Deborah Moggach, author of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel)
“Despatches from Family Life is the laugh-out-loud story of the trials and tribulations of a very particular family. Breezy, sophisticated, hilarious, rude and aching with sweetness; Love, Nina might be the most charming book I’ve ever read” (Maria Semple, author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette)
“Nina Stibbe is the funniest new writer to arrive in years. Love, Nina is her first book - a memoir so warm, so witty and so wise, it’s like finding the friend you always deserved” (Andrew O, Hagan)

What listeners say about Love, Nina

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A heartwarming and hilarious listen

This is one of those books that I did not want to end. I want to buy it for all of my friends and would happily listen to it all over again. I feel bereft now I no longer have Nina Stibbe and the cast of characters from Gloucester Crescent in my life. These letters written to her sister Vic over a 5 year period in the 1980s are written and narrated in a very understated but incredibly heartwarming and funny style. Nina writes perfectly about the minutiae of daily domestic life and portrays the characters who live on or pass through Gloucester Crescent in a warm, funny, but never unkind way. I felt as though I were listening to letters from a friend. I loved the literary references which again, were so understated and Nina never becomes starstruck by any of the famous people she meets from the arts and literary world.
An absolute joy!

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Haven't laughed so much for years...

Any additional comments?

I loved this book. Nina's innocence and lack of any pretension in the auspicious literary company in which she daily finds herself makes for a beautifully dry, hilarious style. Listened to it again straight away. Very highly recommended.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Gorgeous, witty, warm book (and author/narrator)

If you could sum up Love, Nina in three words, what would they be?

Gorgeous, witty, warm. HILARIOUS, actually.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Love, Nina?

The book is lots of little incidences; funny, dry, bittersweet, ironic, presented as letters to the author's sister, so it's hard to chose one from the hundreds of lovely, chuckley, sniggery anecdotes. One of my favourite recurring episodes though is when Nina describes goings on at Thames Polytechnic to Mary-Kay, the mother of the family she is a nanny for, and Mary-Kay's reactions. Always a mixture in varying proportions of the shocking, hilarious and banal - and Mary-Kay's responses are glorious. Because the stories take the form of letters to NS's sister, her tone is so personal, candid and familiar that I feel like I was sitting at the table with them for years myself.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Anything where she describes what she cooks for the family she works for, the conspiratorial tone is heightened even more here and her role at that time (and how she copes with it) are in sharp relief: caring, naive, clever, inventive.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Mary-Kay offers for Nina to move back into No. 55, and Nina accepts - it lasted all of 30 seconds within the actual audiobook, but it forms a tiny explosion of joy and acceptance so much so that you realise the author's relationship with Mary-Kay before this point was always leading up to this. Such a British little blip of poignancy and warm-and-fuzziness.

Any additional comments?

Definitely, definitely, buy and listen to this, as your very next audiobook. Nina Stibbe is a tremendous author and narrator, and this is one of those books that is so hilarious and brilliant that afterwards you'll know it will be difficult to top it, and your next listen could only hope to be a disappointment in comparison. YOU. WILL. LOVE. THIS. BOOK. I promise.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Perfect for late night reading

I found this book by chance when excerpts were read over Christmas on Radio 4. The unabridged version is all the better for being narrated by Nina herself. It was enjoyable to be immersed in this lovely family's day to day living via Nina's witty commentary. If you are feeling tired at night and just want something light-hearted to listen to then this is the book is a pleasure. The family are all brought to life alongside memories of life during the 80's. I'm looking forward to Nina's next book - hurry up please!

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very funny and easy to dip in and out of

What did you like most about Love, Nina?

That it's true! Well, I hope it is although I guess the author may have polished her letters a little bit. The book is a series of letters written by a nanny to her sister.

What fascinated me was how well Nina integrated into the family she was working for, as well as their friends and neighbours. She cared so well for the boys she was looking after and must have been great fun for them, more like an older sister. I was impressed how she wasn't deferential to Mary Kay etc. and I think it was because of this that she was almost perfect for their family whereas another family probably wouldn't have got on with her at all.

I particularly liked how she said she didn't worry about Sam's medical condition because his mother could do the worrying so she didn't have to, yet she was still closely monitoring his eyes when she wasn't putting him in skips, pushing him into the swimming pool etc. She just accepted the family as they were which was perfect. Some of her cooking stories made me laugh a lot, I wouldn't have fancied having to eat them.

What other book might you compare Love, Nina to, and why?

I can't think of anything I've ever read like it.

What three words best describe Nina Stibbe’s voice?

calm amused real

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No but I don't think that's a criticism. I didn't want it to stop so almost dragged it out so I had snippets to look forward to.

Any additional comments?

I have the paper copy of this book which I'd already read but I was intrigued to hear the audio version because it's read by the author.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A female Adrian Mole but real

This is sweet, warm, and very very funny. This is about Nina's job as a nanny in London in the early 80's and living on a street where all the houses appear to be occupied by an intellectual celebrity.
Nina describes a household where the extraordinary is turned into the ordinary and everbody's viewpoint is ruminated over with hilarious results. It is wonderful to hear about famous highbrow people agonising over noisy fridges, turkey burgers and unreturned saws. Nina doesn't appear to be troubled by hard work but instead seems to adopted into the family as a sort of eccentric and slightly churlish big sister.
I should hate Nina for landing what must have been the best job in the UK while I was doing something much more mundane in another part of London, But the truth is, she is impossible not to love and she did us a great service by recording it all in these marvellous letters to her sister.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Didn't want it to end!!

Would you listen to Love, Nina again? Why?

Yes, definitely!! It was so funny.

Which character – as performed by Nina Stibbe – was your favourite?

Not really applicable as it was letters...so herself I guess.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Sweet, warm and very funny

Any additional comments?

Please don't be put off by my review. This really is a wonderful book!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Can't work out why this is a book

I think the idea behind this is great. However I had to abandon it after an hour as it was driving me mad. This is a one sided conversation with no context - I had no idea who anyone was and it made it hard to care what was going to happen. I really felt like the sisters views were necessary to balance the writer and help the listener understand. Perhaps if I had carried on it would have been fine but I had so many other books of rather listen to it felt like a waste of my time. A good idea in principle but very poorly delivered.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Unbelievably tedious

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I listened to about 40 minutes of this and had to give up on it. I can't think of anything that may have improved it, I was expecting something along the lines of Ladies of Letters but was sadly disappointed.

What will your next listen be?

Something that actually has a story line

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment and boredom

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Couldn't stick it out

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

I prefer a more exciting story line

What could Nina Stibbe have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Too quick between letters, need more time to establish who the characters are

What didn’t you like about Nina Stibbe’s performance?

Salivary voice, once you notice you can't stop hearing it, completely put me off

Any additional comments?

Sorry

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3 people found this helpful