The Nest

Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

Mar 2016 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

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.

Ratings and reviews

What a stupid long winded book. I couldn't get past chapter 3 before my brain threatened to strangle me. Selfish whiney self destructive siblings who are very unlikeable..useless details/babble. Def not trying any more of this "writers" books

The description of this book includes the word funny which I didn't find. Really it's just a life story. Siblings are supposed to inherit a bunch of money. One has drug and legal fees that affect them all. Then the story reveals over time how they're all pretty flawed and how everyone is going to be okay in the end. All of the characters are struggling with some kind of issue. There are problems in jobs, money, attitudes and every area. The siblings are the causes of their own unhappiness and have some growing up to do. The family has it's dysfunction, lows and highs. I wasn't crazy about any of the siblings, but they seemed to have likable romantic partners and offspring for the most part. Overall, I liked it, but didn't love it. Reading this book didn't inspire any major feelings in me, but I can see how it would make an interesting tv show.

I thought it was a well woven story, but kept waiting for the "a ha" ending, it never came. Could be set up for a sequel I suppose.

About the author

Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney is the author of the instant New York Times bestselling novels The Nest and Good Company. The Nest was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writer’s pick and named one of the best books of 2016 by People, the Washington Post, NPR, Amazon and others. Sweeney’s work has been translated into more than 28 languages. She has been a guest on Today, Late Night with Seth Meyers and NPR’s All Things Considered. The Nest has been optioned by AMC Studios and is in development as a limited series. Sweeney holds an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars and lives in Los Angeles with her family.