Make Nice
A Novel
-
- $24.99
Publisher Description
Sandwich meets The Wedding People in this irresistible comedy of manners as three generations of a family—a snail scientist, a soon-to-be divorcée, her teenage daughter, a hapless con man, and their feckless patriarch—descend on a ritzy Lake Michigan vacation island.
"Engaging and charming, perfect for your own summer vacation."
—Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hotel Nantucket
When the Pickford siblings arrive at The Grand Hotel—a nostalgic tourist paradise of horse-drawn carriages, muddled cocktails, and white sweaters on the tennis court—they have every intention of spending the long weekend making nice. Pete, the nation’s foremost expert on gastropods (mollusks), is keen to wade around the lake in search of a rare and exciting Carthusian snail. Viv, reeling from the secret revelation that her husband is gay, is determined to put on a brave face for her daughter. And Corey, a charming, handsome grifter, has lucked into five pounds of cocaine he plans to sell to the first dumb rich guy he can find.
But when Pete falls for the alluring mother of a local kid, when Viv’s daughter gets up to teenage trouble, and when Corey finds the wealthy guests less interested in party drugs than golf clubs and waffle cones, the long weekend of family bonding veers into disaster. Why did their father bring them to this cushy island resort in the first place? And why does Corey, the biggest screw-up of them all, seem to be the only one who knows the truth? As secrets spill, old flames are fanned, and an innocent snail is crushed beneath the unrelenting heel of a hiking boot. In a story that is as sneakily wise as it is absurdly funny, Ryan Effgen’s debut shows how sometimes the people who bring out your worst—your family—can also be the ones to bring you out of your shell.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Months after their mother's death, three siblings reunite with their father on the Lake Michigan island where they spent their summers as children in Effgen's astute debut. Graphic designer Viv, who is reeling from the recent discovery that her husband is gay, arrives with her prickly teen daughter. There's also Viv's younger brother, Pete, a biologist who roams the shores in search of mollusks and feels confident he's about to clinch a prestigious position at his university. They're joined by youngest brother Corey, a confabulating wastrel who's broke after blowing through his earnings from a child acting career, and who secretly plans to sell a five-pound brick of cocaine he found in the apartment of a neighbor who OD'd back in Queens. Complications quickly arise: Viv runs into the man she lost her virginity to as a teen, Pete receives bad news about his job prospect, and Corey faces danger from the coke's rightful owner. Meanwhile, the siblings gradually learn the truth about their father, a successful businessman who instilled in them the value of hard work but who turns out to have been far from scrupulous. Effgen displays an admirably light touch with his characters, blending incisive comedic insights into their flaws with genuine sympathy. The result is a satisfying family drama.
