The Vulnerables
'As funny as it is painfully honest' (Paula Hawkins)
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4.6 • 5 Ratings
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
***A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE INDEPENDENT, IRISH TIMES, PROSPECT, HARPER'S BAZAAR, VOGUE, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICE, NEW REPUBLIC AND KIRKUS***
'A sharp-eyed and tender novel about human connection' (PAULA HAWKINS) from the bestselling, National Book Award-winning author of The Friend
'Layered and thoughtful ... it's plainly written, but has beautiful depths' TELEGRAPH - THE 75 HOTTEST BOOKS OF 2024 SO FAR
'A must-read about unlikely friendships' SUNDAY TIMES STYLE
'One of my favourite authors' NATALIE PORTMAN
'A novel that truly, truly speaks to the soul' GLAMOUR
'Makes you feel smarter and more alive' PEOPLE
Three strangers are thrown together in one Manhattan apartment: a solitary writer; a Gen Z college drop-out; and a spirited parrot named Eureka. As the world outside descends into turmoil, the three of them must learn how to live with and care for one another - and discover what happens when strangers are willing to open their hearts to each other.
'Compulsively readable' ELLE
'A gorgeous, funny novel about connection' iPAPER
'A breath of fresh air for a time when it still sometimes feels there isn't any' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
'Beautiful and profound' MEG MASON
'Infused with moments of hilarity and wisdom. Beautiful' WOMAN'S WEEKLY
'Filled with moments of the sublime' CAROLINE O'DONOGHUE
'Once you discover Sigrid Nunez, you don't look back' ANNE ENRIGHT
'Cracks open windows and offers a reassuring breeze, reminding us that it's OK - and perhaps even necessary - to need each other; it's only human' SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
'I am committed, until one of us dies, to Nunez's novels. They are short, wise, provocative, funny' NEW YORK TIMES
Customer Reviews
Modern master
The author is an American literary academic and writer with multiple prizes and awards to her credit. She is probably best known for her seventh novel, ‘The Friend’ (2018), which won a National Book Award, and for ‘Sempre Susan,’ her 2011 memoir of Susan Sontag.
‘The Vulnerables,’ Ms Nunez’s contribution to pandemic literature, is set in 2020 New York. A younger person tells the protagonist/narrator, an accomplished female writer and academic of a certain age (Did I mention Ms Nunez’s protagonists are frequently avatars for herself, if not frankly autobiographical?) she should not spend so much time wandering around outside. “You’re a vulnerable,” the other woman says. “And you need to act like one.”
The somewhat thin plot line involves the usually solitary writer sharing an apartment with a Gen-Z student and a macaw named Eureka that needs babysitting but has more personality than either of his roomies, who all learn to look out for each other as the outside world descends increasingly into turmoil.
As is often the case with this author’s work, the plot is supplemented with internal monologues on other writers and literature. Joan Didion’s ‘Slouching Towards Bethlehem’ features along with rumination on Chekhov, Borges, Céline, and Coetzee that may or may not be to everyone’s taste, but are insightful.
While the book reads more like a memoir than fiction at times,
the prose is a delight either way. It flows effortlessly off the page in a way many aspire to, but few achieve.