Wednesday, August 10, 2016

The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney


Four siblings are due to inherit the trust their father created for them when the youngest of the siblings turns forty.  Nicknamed “the nest” three of the four are anxiously awaiting the substantial (at least a quarter of a million dollars) inheritance since they have already accrued debt or been living a lifestyle that money is needed to maintain.  Shortly before the inheritance will be in the hands of the siblings disaster strikes.  The most financially stable of the bunch needs money to escape a horrific legal mess of his own creating and their mother, having control of the trust, uses the money in it to pay the bills.  The three other siblings are stunned.  The money they counted on for their entire lives is gone.  What will they do now?

I finished this book about a week ago and was wondering what to write.  I’m amazed at how popular this book is considering that many reviews I’ve read weren’t very positive because some readers loathed the main characters.  This truly is a book about first world problems.  It’s hard to feel too much empathy for these characters because they were counting on money for their happiness, and when the money doesn’t materialize, naturally, it’s a disaster for them.  I wouldn’t say I didn’t like the characters, I just didn’t feel too badly for them, especially when the spouses of two of the siblings kept stressing that they shouldn’t count on “the nest” because they thought it was too good to be true.  And they were right!

I will say it was a compulsive read.  There are a lot of side stories that draw you in and the writing was paced in such a way that you needed to know what happened next.  I would give this author another try, but this is yet another case where I don’t get why the book is so hugely popular.