The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney. Harper Collins 2016. 353 pp.
This novel is the story of a very dysfunctional family of New Yorkers. There are four members of the Plumb family: Beatrice, a writer; Melody, a mother of twin girls; Jack, an antiques dealer; and Leo, probably the brightest of the four and highly regarded. [Although his true outrageous character will soon be revealed.] The book’s title refers to how the family regards their trust fund, a nest egg, set up by their cautious and hardworking father. Lately, the value of their trust has peaked with the soaring stock market, and the anxious siblings are expecting to receive it soon.
Their legacy, however, is now in limbo, owing to a terrible accident caused by Leo, driving recklessly and inebriated. His passenger, a young woman, was badly injured. Eventually, Jack, Beatrice, and Melody decide they must confront Leo, and what happens then brings good and bad changes.
By the book’s end, the reader knows all about the anxieties and mistakes of the Plumb family members. Some of their stories are darkly funny, others heartbreaking. This is the author’s first book, and I found it absorbing. I am looking forward to her next one.
– P.M.
The Locals, By Jonathan Dee, Random House 2017. 400 pp.
There’s romanticism, there’s cynicism and somewhere in between is life. A day-to-day existence — filled with its routines and responsibilities, seems so banal as to render anyone’s life unremarkable. Yet, we all suspect there’s a story somewhere – hopes, dreams, love, loss, etc., which begs the question: What does it all mean? So, we outsource the query to the poets and scribes, which brings us to Jonathan Dee’s The Locals.
The Locals turns the structure of the great American novel on its side. If there is a protagonist, it’s the fictional Berkshire town of Howland, Mass., whose story is told from the points of view of an immense cast, whose narratives weave from one another in dizzying fashion. If there are antagonists, they’re the narrators’ own demons that undercut their hopes and dreams. If there’s a conflict, it is grind of daily life.
The story opens amid the disorientation in the days after Sept. 11, 2001. Fears of subsequent attacks prompt the move of a wealthy New York family to Howland. The paterfamilias of the family is a can-do Wall Street wizard, accustomed to solving problems with decisive thinking and cold-hard cash. His presence is felt immediately, and little by little, he begins running the town, which depending on a point of view, may be a good thing or bad thing.
One of the most interesting aspects of The Locals is how well it characterizes the archetypal individuals and institutions of a New England town. There’s the contractor, juggling jobs and scrambling to keep his crew. There’s the overtired first selectman that runs town hall and his business out of one office. There’s the self-important barfly. There’s a historic home, private school and town meetings. At times, I was certain he was writing about Suffield. But, that’s the beauty of The Locals. It just feels just like home.
– Guest Book Reviewer Andy Sauer