When I was about 80 percent through “The Nest” by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney and hadn’t read a single reference to birds, I was a little disappointed.
“The Nest” is about four siblings leaving behind their dependency on the trust fund they were once guaranteed and moving on to new relationships, careers and lifestyles.
Leo, Jack, Bea and Melody Plumb were promised their equal share of the Nest, a large trust that would be bestowed upon them on the youngest sibling’s 40th birthday.
However, Leo made a mistake that cost them almost everything.
The family had been waiting to fall back on the Nest.
As a result, all of the Plumbs made risky financial decisions and wasted away years of their life in unproductivity.
When that no longer becomes an option, Leo is left scrambling to pay back his family and repair his unsavory reputation in New York City.
Bea needs to finish that novel she promised would come to fruition 20 years ago.
Jack needs to pay back his secret line of credit or lose the summer home he owns with his husband.
Melody needs to fund her twin daughters impending college education that she never bothered to save for.
These problems at first seemed mundane, and frankly, a little boring to me, until Sweeney showed how these flaws were representative of the characters as a whole.
The Plumbs are faced with the reality of hard work and perseverance in a time they expected to be floating on a cloud of wealth.
Because of this transition in lifestyle, their relationships at first dismantle and then repair in a way anyone with family can identify.
Sweeney doesn’t just focus on the middle-aged characters and takes several chapters to develop a few of the more minor characters.
One is the 20-year-old victim of Leo’s mistakes, Matilda, and two others are Melody’s twin daughters, Nora and Louisa, who are coming into their own identities the same time their mother is.
“The Nest” wasn’t a page-turner, and it didn’t arouse too many moral dilemmas in me, but that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it.
There’s something to be said for a book that one can happily pick up for a half hour or so each day and be able to put down when duty calls.
The story kept a steady pace throughout, which I actually think can be undervalued in a book.
Sometimes, plot twists 20 pages to the end of a novel can be exhausting.
I appreciated how Sweeney carefully constructed the Plumb family saga that spanned generations.
The novel gave everybody something to relate to.
Don’t run out immediately to buy this book, but if you’re looking for a lazy day read over the summer that will make you chuckle and roll your eyes and even make you nod your head in agreement, consider “The Nest.”
rarosens@indiana.edu @rachrosenstock
