The Nest

Black Sheep Saga

There is something universal about The Nest, Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s debut novel about siblings at war.  It can be assumed with a great degree of accuracy, that where money is involved, people anywhere in the world will behave exactly in the same way; unless there are saintly, which the Plumbs are not.

When the book opens, a drunk and stoned Leo Plumb seduces a young Hispanic waitress Matilda Rodriguez with promises of promoting her music career. The car they are making out in, meets with an accident, Leo is badly hurt, and the girl loses a foot. Leo’s mother Francie, pays a huge sum to cover Matilda’s treatment, silence the Rodriguez family and save the Plumb name from being blackened. Trouble is the money she uses is the trust fund of the Plumb siblings, which, according to her husband’s will, is meant to be given to them when he youngest, Melody, turns forty.

Leonard Plumb senior was a self made millionaire and assumed his kids would be successful too. However, it turns out that all of them are in financial trouble and have been hoping that the nest egg, which is referred to by them as The Nest, will bail them out.

Jack, who runs a business in antiques, is almost bankrupt and has kept the business afloat by borrowing against property, he and his partner, Walker, own. Bea works with a small literary journal run by the idealistic Paul, but it barely pays enough; Melody needs money for her twin daughters’ college fee, or she and her husband Walt will have to sell their home. They are all shocked to find The Nest depleted to save the skin of the black sheep Leo, whose shenanigans leave him with an expensive divorce to deal with and an unemployable status.

With sympathy and humour, D’Aprix Sweeney, follows the lives of the Plumb family and those who love or are loved by them. Homeless and broke Leo crashes with a former girlfriend, Stephanie, and hopes to rebuild his life, even though he has an escape route planned. One of Melody’s daughters, Nora, finds herself attracted to a girl called Simone. The homosexuality of Jack and Nora is portrayed without any drama. The Plumb family is progressive that way, even though they are walking through financial and romantic minefields.

A shadow of 9/11 falls over the Matilda part of the story, which is an interesting though not crucial subplot.

D’Aprix Sweeney stays away from dark humour that tends to come easily when dysfunctional families are involved, she never judges her characters, not even the feckless Leo. If he weren’t such a wrecking  ball for everyone he comes in contact with, he would have been a source of entertainment for the family—everyone has one charming relative who never grows up.

The Nest

By Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

Publisher: Ecco

Pages: 353