Dysfunction Junction

My book club’s current choice is The Nest, an engrossing read about the very dysfunctional Plumb family. I read that the author expanded this to a novel after starting in her MFA course with a short story about 4 siblings having a drink at 4 different bars in NYC before joining for a family meeting.

Leo, the selfish and manipulative brother of Beatrice, Melody, and Jack has found himself financially and personally ruined after an accident involving a young waitress.  In order to keep the salacious story from going public in the Plumb’s high(er) society circles, the siblings’ mother drained hush money from The Nest, the trust that was to be split among the four upon the youngest’s fortieth birthday.  They’ve each been counting on this money for varied reasons.  The meeting is to sit down with Leo and suss out his plan for paying them each back.

I love a character study, so to spend so much time with these intelligent and deeply dysfunctional characters was a joy.  Sweeney’s prose is awesome.  If I hadn’t enjoyed the rest of the book as much as I did I would be remain grateful for the gift of a new adjectival life goal: Jack’s husband is described as having “bottomless bonhomie”.  I just love that and want someone to say it about me.  Jack’s husband Walker is the best character of the book, while a secondary one.  A good-natured, hardworking, charitable man.  One wonders how he ever ended up with this mess of a family.  Later in the novel he orchestrates a birthday dinner for Melody, the baby of the family, in an effort to bridge the ugliness between the siblings.

“Tonight’s plan: Bring them together over food.  Stay focused on Melody’s birthday at first.  A bit of bubbly, a gorgeous chicken scaloppini, the coconut cake he remembered Melody saying she liked once.  Then a gentle discussion about kindess.  Accomodation.  A different and sturdier kind of nest.”

Poor Walker never stood a chance with this manipulative and untrusting bunch.