The Nest

by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'I couldn't stop reading or caring about the juicy and dysfunctional Plumb family' AMY POEHLER

'A masterfully constructed, darkly comic, and immensely captivating tale...Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney is a real talent' ELIZABETH GILBERT

A sharp and funny debut about a wonderfully dysfunctional New York family and the three grown-up siblings fighting to save the family money pot - the 'nest' - as their oldest brother threatens to lose it all.

When Leo Plumb drives off drunk from a party in a sports car with a nineteen-year-old waitress in tow, to the moral and legal fallout must be added the horrible inconvenience to his brother and sisters. Leo's rehab costs have severely depleted 'the nest' - the family's joint trust fund that would have cut them loose from their myriad financial issues.

For Melody, a suburban wife and mother, it was to cover both an unwieldy mortgage and her daughters' college tuition. Antiques dealer Jack has secretly borrowed against the beach cottage he shares with his husband. And Beatrice, a once-promising short story writer, can't seem to finish her overdue novel.

Brought together as never before, the Plumb siblings must grapple with old resentments, present-day truths, and the significant emotional and financial toll of the accident, as well as finally acknowledging the choices they have made in their own lives.

Ferociously astute, warm and funny, The Nest is a brilliant debut chronicling the hilarity and savagery of family life.

• ISBN10: 0062414232
• ISBN13: 9780062414236
• Publish Date: 22 March 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 432
• Language: English

Reviews

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

The best way to describe the novel The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney is to compare it to The Royal Tenenbaums but without the understated humor. The Plumb children were self-absorbed, entitled and while adults acted like children. In short, the characters were all unlikable and were not the reason I became invested in the novel. What kept me reading was the how. What caused the Matriarch to dip into "the nest" and cause such discourse? It was like an episode of What Would You Do? and anticipated the outcome with all its odd turns of events.

I liked that there was a small sense of acceptance from the three children who were essentially screwed out of their inheritance by their older sibling's actions, however, I didn't feel that said sibling had the comeuppance that I had been hoping for and for that reason wasn't completely satisfied by the end. As a whole, The Nest is a good beach read with a plot that keeps you reading to learn its conclusion.This review was originally posted on First Impressions Reviews

[girlinthepages]

2.5 Stars
I was really excited for this when I first heard about it because siblings! New York! Trust fund! Drama! (I was a big fan of Gossip Girl back in the day). However, this book is mainly about middle aged people being rather miserable and never really resolving any of their problems and being largely unsympathetic characters. I liked the writing style and would try another book by this author, but this one was ultimately a let down for me. Full review to come on Girl in the Pages

[Kait ✨]

With all the hype this book has had I was dying to read it, but ultimately this was a huge disappointment for me. I thought the writing dragged, and while there were moments of great writing, it was not enough. I hated the characters, and never felt fully engaged with them, perhaps due to the many perspectives in this book. That might have all been fine if D’Aprix Sweeney had made some kind of larger point. I feel like there is a missed opportunity here to talk about endemic wealth and issues of class in North America. The author ultimately doesn’t offer much of a commentary here at all.

I was interested by the ending and I think D’Aprix Sweeney made a gesture with it that I liked—but it was too little too late, for me. I’ll be the voice that says no, don’t read this book...and especially don’t read it on the beach! I think it’ll put you to sleep.

[Eve1972]

3.5 Stars

I really enjoyed this one. The author has a nice easy reading style. The characters were interesting and well developed. I do think it could have been a tad bit shorter, I felt it dragged along in a few place. It have a nice little epilogue, but I was disappointed in the lack of resolution for one of the characters.

Overall though this was a decent read.