The Nest

Oh man, family drama! I liked this novel by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney because it was so realistic yet still a compelling narrative. And I am not normally drawn to realistic portraits, because I find them too harsh in the details. Like the difference between an amateur point and shoot photo and an impressionism painting; both portray a ‘truth,’ but one is easier on the eye and more pleasant to absorb. The Nest follows the current life of four siblings who are waiting for a mid to late-life inheritance to solve their financial problems. That is until, one sibling gets in trouble and the mom busts open the inheritance to throw money at it. Then the other three siblings are trying to figure out how to get the fourth to pay back the inheritance asap.

I didn’t like that the characters portrayed some of the worst, normal human traits (they weren’t evil, but they weren’t good) and only sometimes did you see a glimpse of the good. I guess I’d rather read about aspirational characters who overcome difficulties, rather than characters who are overcoming problems of their own doing. Or at least characters with better character growth. But as a friend once told me, some people change but never really grow, so why do we expect all our fictional character to do so? It was still an entertaining read, complete with life lessons like don’t establish an inheritance trust if you have money – just donate it to charities in your will or set up college funds for grandkids instead.