The Nest

Books | Fiction / Literary

3.2

(771)

Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

A warm, funny and acutely perceptive debut novel about four adult siblings and the fate of the shared inheritance that has shaped their choices and their lives.Every family has its problems. But even among the most troubled, the Plumb family stands out as spectacularly dysfunctional. Years of simmering tensions finally reach a breaking point on an unseasonably cold afternoon in New York City as Melody, Beatrice, and Jack Plumb gather to confront their charismatic and reckless older brother, Leo, freshly released from rehab. Months earlier, an inebriated Leo got behind the wheel of a car with a nineteen-year-old waitress as his passenger. The ensuing accident has endangered the Plumbs' joint trust fund, “The Nest,” which they are months away from finally receiving. Meant by their deceased father to be a modest mid-life supplement, the Plumb siblings have watched The Nest’s value soar along with the stock market and have been counting on the money to solve a number of self-inflicted problems.Melody, a wife and mother in an upscale suburb, has an unwieldy mortgage and looming college tuition for her twin teenage daughters. Jack, an antiques dealer, has secretly borrowed against the beach cottage he shares with his husband, Walker, to keep his store open. And Bea, a once-promising short-story writer, just can’t seem to finish her overdue novel. Can Leo rescue his siblings and, by extension, the people they love? Or will everyone need to reimagine the futures they’ve envisioned? Brought together as never before, Leo, Melody, Jack, and Beatrice must grapple with old resentments, present-day truths, and the significant emotional and financial toll of the accident, as well as finally acknowledge the choices they have made in their own lives.This is a story about the power of family, the possibilities of friendship, the ways we depend upon one another and the ways we let one another down. In this tender, entertaining, and deftly written debut, Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney brings a remarkable cast of characters to life to illuminate what money does to relationships, what happens to our ambitions over the course of time, and the fraught yet unbreakable ties we share with those we love.

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More Details:

Author

Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

Pages

331

Publisher

HarperCollins

Published Date

2016-03-22

ISBN

0062414232 9780062414236

Ratings

Google: 3

Community ReviewsSee all

"By the end, this was a hopeful and warming story, with fits and starts throughout of adults acting out in response to one colossally selfish man. The strange relationships of a dysfunctional family of people who eventually come out all right."

Diane Morello

"Boring. A lot of whining and just, the characters were annoying "

B S

Brandy Schluterman

"so I started this book seeing all 4 star reviews from friends (I hadn't seen MJ's 2 star) so my expectations were high. I was disappointed. There was opportunity for these characters but I didn't get enough depth from them. <br/>if you think of it as a light summer read then it can fulfill your goal.<br/>"

J w

Jfly winslow

"I couldn’t finish this book. "

Kayla

"Excellent, relatable character with well written plot. I enjoyed the change in viewpoints throughout the book."

Cheyenne Marier

"A very intricate and compelling story about a whole family and the financial troubles that all end up intertwined. A bit real for my taste, but story and character development stayed interesting throughout. "

J C

James Cyran

"Enjoyable character study, but ultimately lacks enough punch to make it truly great"

R T

Rebekah Travis

"I picked up The Nest because I loved the cover. After reading the brief description I was intrigued enough to read it. With a slow start I plowed through the book feeling like it had to turn the corner. I had a hard time believing that $2m dollars would be given to an illegal immigrant to shut her up. More believable would be half that amount. I also have a controversial issue with the book but I have this with most new authors these days as they must be told by their editors to have their storylines appeal to the mainstream but instead it makes the book take a turn towards ridiculous. I wished there was more substance to the storyline and even the characters. I may have even liked it more if Leo had more backbone. Not all men are jerks to the very end. But that would have made his character have more depth."