How did Sweeney's decision to structure her novel from the perspective of multiple characters, and in the third person, affect the way you identified with the characters?

The Nest does not center on a sole protagonist, but rather a group of people. How did Sweeney's decision to structure her novel this way — from the perspective of multiple characters, and in the third person, affect the way you identified with the characters? Did you find that it made you more or less sympathetic to each sibling's predicament, and in what way? Could you imagine yourself in any of their shoes?

The third person gave the novel a feeling that all siblings were equal and the reader could decide on how well they were liked or not. I liked how the parts got woven in and came together at the end, with the accident, the stolen statue, and Stephanie's home. As all was revealed I could see how having this "expected' amount of money waiting affected the decisions of everyone and actually was a negative influence. They dysfunctional family also gave through. They all seemed a lot more whole at the actual end of the book.

In presenting the characters individually and from outside the plot action, the author actually gave her readers a variety of experiences that - most likely - her readers could identify with in at least some small way. Who has not kept secrets from a husband or lover? Who has not had doubts about her/his ability to succeed in the workplace or with an identifiable goal. Who has not been involved in subterfuge at some level in the maturing process. These characters serve to either remind those who have passed them in age of weak spots in their own past lives (those they have hopefully grown from) or they may serve as mirrors for those now going through the process and will perhaps reveal a new truth or guidance for the future. This is part of what, I believe, makes this novel so appealing and universal.

The structure allowed me to understand each character's mindset and thought processes, but at the same time, see how each fit into the overall structure and each sibling's story. The structure kept me reading because I was interested in each character and how matters would resolve for each of them.

I love novels that have good character development. You really get inside the characters so much more when it is told in third person. I think the author hit a home run with her ability to develop the characters and for the reader to find redeeming qualities of each.

I think it was the only way to successfully tell this story. Moving from character to character, hearing the stories in each one's unique voice, helped move the plot lines forward and pulled me right on through to the end.

She managed it so well that I found myself wishing for even more information about the characters - especially those I found distasteful as I did the Mother - horrible woman!

I liked the structure of the book. It allowed me to focus on each character while still seeing how they all fit together. I think that if each chapter followed all of the characters chronologically, it would have been confusing.

I felt there were way too many characters in this novel. It was unnecessarily bogged down and most characters were unlikable.

I liked the way the book was structured. It gave you a chance to learn about each of the characters as individuals. It also allowed for the introduction of the peripheral characters who you also learned about without having to see them entirely through the eyes of another person. I don't know how the author could have told the story of a "family" any other way.