"The Vulnerable": Sigrid Nunez explores the psyche of a parrot

Review In the midst of a global pandemic, a writer moves into a friend's apartment to look after her parrot, Eureka. A highly anticipated, yet slightly disappointing, ninth novel ★★☆☆☆

By Didier Jacob

Published on August 28, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.

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Having stayed in Manhattan despite the Covid epidemic, a New York writer moves into a friend's luxurious apartment to look after her parrot, Eureka, while her mistress has gone off to the countryside. It's a superb specimen that she gets to know better, and even to appreciate. But a young man shows up at the apartment (he's a family friend) and decides to look after the parrot too. The writer is dismayed, even though there's room for everyone.

This is the highly anticipated, though slightly disappointing, ninth novel by Sigrid Nunez, best known for her excellent evocation of Susan Sontag ("Semper Susan") and for her novel "The Friend," in which the narrator inherited a cumbersome dog after the death of its owner. Continuing her animal journey...