Mini-Reviews: Family Dramas

The Imperfects by Amy Meyerson (2020)

When their grandmother Helen passes away, three estranged siblings and their mother find a priceless heirloom among her possessions, the Florentine Diamond, a 137-carat yellow diamond missing since 1918 in Austria.  The family must prove they are the rightful owners, leading them down a path to learn more about their own family history, while confronting personal issues and long-held grudges.

This story is based on the true story of the real-life still-missing Florentine Diamond, which I had never heard of, so that was an interesting aspect of the story.  I really enjoyed the parts of the story where Helen's family begins their search into her mysterious past.  The way things were revealed was interesting, from Helen's mother's connection to the Austrian royal family to how Helen herself arrived in America.  I liked watching the siblings' interactions, especially because they hadn't been together in so many years and now have differing views on what to do with their possible inheritance.  What I didn't really care for was all the time spent on their current personal issues - Jake is having a baby with his girlfriend, Ashley's husband is having serious work issues, and Beck recently got out of a relationship.  The book wasn't super long, but it could have easily been shorter; I wished the book focused less on the characters' individual issues and spent more time on Helen.  3.5 stars

The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney (2016)

 

The Plumb siblings have been looking forward to receiving their portions of the family inheritance, dubbed "The Nest," for years, but some terrible mistakes made by oldest brother Leo have drained nearly the entire amount.  The siblings now must deal with the ramifications and learn how to move forward, with or without the money.

I wanted to like this one more than I actually did.  The premise is really interesting, these siblings having to figure out how to deal with each other when they're all going through their own issues.  The problem was, they were all so unlikable.  They're selfish and pretentious and shallow.  They've relied too much on the assumption that they will each inherit a substantial amount of money and this will solve all their problems, instead of making better choices and avoiding the problems in the first place.  Beyond the siblings, there are a ton of other characters to keep track of, each with their own little storyline that either doesn't go anywhere or doesn't add much to the book.  I thought the writing was good, but the characters just really ruined it for me.  Disappointing for me, unfortunately!  2.5 stars

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