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The Nest  By  cover art

The Nest

By: Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
Narrated by: Mia Barron
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Publisher's summary

A warm, funny and acutely perceptive debut novel about four adult siblings and the fate of the shared inheritance that has shaped their choices and their lives.

Every family has its problems. But even among the most troubled, the Plumb family stands out as spectacularly dysfunctional. Years of simmering tensions finally reach a breaking point on an unseasonably cold afternoon in New York City as Melody, Beatrice, and Jack Plumb gather to confront their charismatic and reckless older brother, Leo, freshly released from rehab. Months earlier, an inebriated Leo got behind the wheel of a car with a 19-year-old waitress as his passenger. The ensuing accident has endangered the Plumbs' joint trust fund, "The Nest", which they are months away from finally receiving. Meant by their deceased father to be a modest midlife supplement, the Plumb siblings have watched The Nest's value soar along with the stock market and have been counting on the money to solve a number of self-inflicted problems.

Melody, a wife and mother in an upscale suburb, has an unwieldy mortgage and looming college tuition for her twin teenage daughters. Jack, an antiques dealer, has secretly borrowed against the beach cottage he shares with his husband, Walker, to keep his store open. And Bea, a once-promising short-story writer, just can't seem to finish her overdue novel. Can Leo rescue his siblings and, by extension, the people they love? Or will everyone need to reimagine the futures they've envisioned? Brought together as never before, Leo, Melody, Jack, and Beatrice must grapple with old resentments, present-day truths, and the significant emotional and financial toll of the accident as well as finally acknowledge the choices they have made in their own lives.

This is a story about the power of family, the possibilities of friendship, the ways we depend upon one another and the ways we let one another down. In this tender, entertaining, and deftly written debut, Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney brings a remarkable cast of characters to life to illuminate what money does to relationships, what happens to our ambitions over the course of time, and the fraught yet unbreakable ties we share with those we love.

©2016 Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about The Nest

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    1,644
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    2,092
  • 3 Stars
    1,413
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    430
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  • 3 Stars
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Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,352
  • 4 Stars
    1,695
  • 3 Stars
    1,297
  • 2 Stars
    496
  • 1 Stars
    232

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

The Nest is a Complete Mess

After seeing 'The Nest' in every virtual advertisement online- whether it be my Facebook feed, or a news site- I thought I had better read it. Although I read some reviews that were not exactly stellar, I also read rave reviews about this family saga. I felt compelled to listen to the audio book to decide for myself.

The Nest is boring drivel about boring people- none of whom I cared about. 'The Nest' is a large inheritance which is to be divided among siblings, who've all made their own separate plans for spending their portion. The problem is, the once full nest has dwindled thanks to the mishandling of one of the siblings.

The book is about each of sibling's lives and how they intend(ed) to spend their money. (Each of them desperately needs to improve their lives)

This book is, in a word, tedious. I couldn't even remotely like any of the characters. The whining losers made my head hurt and I found myself wanting to quit listening many times. Not only that, but I had to start the book over three times because my mind wandered out of boredom. I mean, I had to *really* concentrate on listening to this book.

Don't waste your credit or money. It was a very difficult listen and I can't imagine choking through pages of this book.

Urgh. The Nest is a real stinker.

-Wendi

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69 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Pick a story!!!!

All over the place and soooooo boring.

I was looking forward to this book and downloaded it the day it came out. Should have waited to read some reviews. Lesson learned.

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32 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Hang in There, It Grows on You

Any additional comments?

The Nest is an account of a period of life in a talented, dysfunctional group of siblings and their extended family. If I could give it a 4.5 I would. I feel a little badly about the four stars, in part because can't decide whether my reservation about giving it a five is because of my issues or the book's. All I can say is that the first half of the book seemed slow to me. Some of the minor characters seemed insignificant, at first. The main characters did not seem likeable; it was only as they worked on their various challenges that the book became more interesting to me. I began to care about halfway through and the book developed a more compelling pace. I'm glad I read it: I'm just not sure how highly I'd recommend it.

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27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Couldn't get through it.

Insufferable. Sorry. Maybe because it's audio, but I can't keep track of characters. Leo, Bea, Melody, Jack, Walker, Walter, Norah, Francie, Victoria, Stephanie, George... I can't keep track as it goes from one person to the next super fast before I even know who is whom.

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25 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Way too much going nowhere!

There was way too much sorry going absolutely nowhere. Very disappointing. Story barely deserves a star.

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22 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Weeeeeelll.....

Honestly, there were a bit too many characters to follow. I didn't get them all straight until the last half, it seemed. Also, I personally prefer when there is closure at the end and I didn't feel this one really did. Once I figured out every storyline, I did like it. So not a flop!

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Started strong

I was hooked at the beginning. When the book became slow, I was optimistic, but the characters never regained my interest to the same level as in the beginning.

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Unlikeable People Making Their Own Problems

I admit that I enjoyed the listen for the most part, but only up to the ending which I felt was somewhat of a lost opportunity. There were a lot of small things that bothered me. I agree with reviewers who wrote that there is untapped potential in this storyline. I liked none of the main characters, and I guess I was hoping for a Bonfire of the Vanities situation. No such satisfaction in this case. In addition, there is some editorial sloppiness - for example, "he should have been in South Vietnam by now" - I am pretty sure South Vietnam hasn't existed for quite some time; also, there are inappropriate usages of the words - "bemused," among others. The narrator was not a good match in my opinion - her 'accents' are pretty terrible, her own affect is midwestern kindergarten teacher. I realize this review sounds very nitpicky but the sum of these things hampered my experience.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

soap opera from NYC, money and false entitlements

semi interesting. lots of people with lots of trendy problems. housing bubble, $$ issues, love issues, writers block.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Different than the summary implied

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I feel like Sweeney used big words for the sake of using big words, they just didn't seem to belong...like she used a thesaurus while writing it. It was easy enough to follow, but it seemed unnecessary.

Any additional comments?

The summary implies that this is a book about a dysfunctional family, etc etc, but fails to mention the other jumble of stories thrown in about characters who aren't talked about long enough for you to realize what's happening. There are too many characters who get the spotlight of a POV story line without any character development, or even being sure who they are. I found it annoying to be unsure who the million different characters were and having to back track or deduce how they relate to the story that we thought we were being told.

While I didn't hate this book, it was overall just OK, I was expecting more for a book that was supposed to be one of the best of 2016 so far.

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9 people found this helpful