Book Review

The Nest

by: Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

I enjoyed reading this book. Published in 2016, the book is older, but it aged well.

This story takes place among adult siblings of a privileged New York family.

While they await a cash influx from an inheritance, they find themselves spending it before even getting it (sort of like how the rest of us spend our tax returns before we get them).

But money doesn’t buy happiness. A scandal occurs and the inheritance is depleted before it matures.

Left with large debts and standing timidly at unfamiliar crossroads, the Plumb siblings navigate what middle America and the underprivileged face daily, uncertainty. 

This book jumped out to me at the library while I was hunting for something else. It stood out because the author’s last name is so unique. I’m glad I picked it up.

It was fun to fantasize about a world of inheritances, the publishing industry, New York City, and the time before social media when you could disappear. 

Although the characters are self-absorbed spoiled brats, I still became engrossed in their narratives and rooted for most of them - the female protagonists at least.

This was the first book I read in a while that was in third person and the prospective of the character changed smoothly within the same chapter. As opposed to books where each character has their own self-narrated chapters. I enjoyed this style and the fluidity of how it moved through the characters’ storylines, woven together in a way that only siblings can be. 

If there was anything I would change it would be the ending. It was happy ending, but not the one I hoped for.