Make Nice

In Effgen’s debut comedy of manners, three adult siblings return, at their father’s request, to The Grand Hotel, a thinly veiled version of Mackinac Island and a place that was special to them growing up after their mother died. Snail scientist Pete, soon-to-be divorcée Viv, and con man Corey go into the long weekend prepared to “make nice” but of course nothing goes as planned for them, Viv’s teenage daughter, or their incompetent father. I googled so many aspects of Pete’s story, which was my favorite of the bunch: Carthusian snails, carrera marble, and the Michigan shoreline.