The Paper Palace and The Nest
Last two books of 2021, just under the wire.
Two novels taking place in the Northeast. Stereotypes: intact. Shabby “chic” family compounds, seemingly erudite New Yorkers who jostle to be a part of a scene, breezy yet overly confident in *everything.* I read the bulk of them not at home — in other words, far from the Boston suburb where we currently find ourselves — which made the descriptions all the more rich. If you’re from outside the NE but have spent substantial time here, maybe you’ll know what I mean. (Also, I think both books mentioned Grey Gardens?)
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley-Heller is more pensive; The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney more snappy. Both were delicious family sagas to close out the year — while I enjoyed a very un-Northeastern US holiday.
That’s all I’ve got. 29 long hours later, I’m back in my own bed. Missing the open vistas and mountains, but these novels have zinged me right back “home.”
originally published on instagram