Pretty Things

Vanessa addresses the reader and assumes that they do not like her. They see her on social media and the internet and think she is a wealthy, spoiled person. Nevertheless, she knows that she captivates the reader. The reader—or the kind of person who follows her—wants to feel superior. Though they will not admit it, they are jealous of Vanessa: They want her life.

Vanessa is excited about the arrival of her two guests: Ashley and Michael (Nina and Lachlan’s fake identities). The morning rain yields to sunshine, and Vanessa feels her doldrums departing. She tidies up Stonehaven, posts a selfie of her “lounging” outfit, and rereads a Maya Angelou quote from her Instagram.

Ashley and Michael arrive in a BMW with Oregon license plates, and Vanessa thinks that Ashley is attractive, and she wonders if Ashley is Latina or Jewish. Michael also captivates Vanessa. His intense stare makes her blush. It is as if he knows her, and Vanessa wonders if Michael, an academic, is aware of her internet fame. Vanessa reflects on the differences between her social media persona and real life. She has to perform authenticity and keep her brand positive. Online, she is smiling, but in real life, she wants to gulp Drano.

Vanessa invites Ashley and Michael into Stonehaven, and Ashley marvels at the home. Ashley wonders why Vanessa did not mention it in the listing, and Vanessa says that she omitted it to keep away bad people. Michael jokes that he and Ashley are the wrong kind of people. He says that the home reminds him of the castle his family once had in Ireland, and Vanessa identifies with his old-money upbringing.

Vanessa serves tea and feels the house coming alive. She tells herself that she is not alone, but when Ashley and Michael go to the caretaker’s cottage, she is alone and looks at puppies on Instagram and cries.

Vanessa reflects on her history. Her mom, Judith, came from a French family that arrived in the United States for the gold rush. Her dad, William Liebling IV, came from a real estate family that helped to build California. Based on a photo, Vanessa thinks that her parents loved each other—though she admits there was a tradeoff: wealth and power for youth and beauty. After Judith almost died while giving birth to Vanessa, a surrogate birthed Benny. Vanessa thinks that Judith loved her more than Benny, who reminded her of her flaws.

When she was little, Vanessa visited her dad on the top floor of the Liebling Group office tower in San Francisco. William tells her to look at the people below: they are like hamsters spinning on a wheel, never getting anywhere. That will not be what life is like for Vanessa and Benny. They were born into a life of affluence. They inherited ideal circumstances—yet circumstances aren’t stable.

Aside from a few incidents—driving drunk and throwing a tennis racket at an unfair judge—Vanessa is an ideal daughter. Benny is a problematic son, and the parents blame each other for his behavior. Benny does not care about fitting in: He likes to draw unsettling pictures in his notebook. To straighten him out, they move to Tahoe and enroll them in the outdoorsy North Lake Academy. Vanessa says that Tahoe will make their mom “crazy.” Benny counters: Their mom is already “crazy.” Vanessa corrects him: “moody,” not “crazy.”

Vanessa begins school at Princeton but visits Tahoe over spring break. She meets Nina, and Benny says he likes her because she is smart, stands up for herself, makes him laugh, and does not care about their wealthy family. Benny wants to be a person, not a Liebling, but Vanessa likes being a Liebling and its advantages, like getting into Princeton with a 3.4 GPA.

Vanessa thinks Nina will make Benny less of an outsider and encourages him to kiss her. After his dad catches him and Nina having sex, he writes her letters (in Italian) throughout the summer about hearing voices. Her mom is not doing well either, and Vanessa tells her dad that she should probably be on medication. Her dad dismisses her but calls her a great daughter.

Back at Princeton, Judith calls Vanessa during a party: William is cheating on her. He is never at Stonehaven, and Judith compares her situation to Jane Eyre. Vanessa wants to speak to Benny, but Judith does not let her; Benny is a vegan and talks to the meat. Vanessa is worried, but she cannot get her dad on the phone, and Benny will not return her calls. By the time she wills herself to Tahoe, her mom is dead. She took the yacht, Judybird, into the middle of the lake, filled her silk bathrobe with heavy law books, and jumped.

Benny blames William for Judith’s death—he made her live in Stonehaven, and his behavior made her sick. Vanessa confronts William about the affair. He says the woman was not important. He admits that he made a mistake, but he was only trying to protect Judith and do what was best for his kids.

The trio leaves Stonehaven, and things fall apart. The 2008 economic turmoil depletes the value of the Liebling real estate properties, and William’s younger brother replaces him as chairman. Vanessa flunks classes at Princeton and invests in a dot-com flop.

Benny arrives at Princeton and covers his side of the room with demonic drawings. One night, he crawls into the bed of a girl down the hall. He hugs her and asks her to protect him from a mysterious thing. She wakes up screaming, and authorities find Benny naked and screaming outside the library. Benny has schizophrenia, and his dad sends him to the Orson Institute, a ritzy psychiatric center in Mendocino, California.

Vanessa comments on the nature of infatuation with risk, and she has taken many risks: She financed two films, designed a handbag line, and backed a tequila company—none of those risks worked out.

Feeling uncentered, Vanessa meets Saskia Rubansky at a gala in New York City. Saskia got a degree in fashion design and auditioned for the reality show Project Runway (2004) four times. Her fashion blog led to an Instagram. Now, she is an Instagram star with 1.6 million followers. She has fame, but Vanessa, with her old-money family, can get her another layer of approval. Saskia tags Vanessa in a few photos: in eight hours, Vanessa collects 232 new followers.

Vanessa becomes a social media star. Aside from Saskia, her friend group includes Trini (a bikini model), Evangeline (a celebrity stylist), and Maya (who makes makeup videos). They travel the world, attend music festivals and fashion shows, and document their epic lifestyle on social media. Sometimes, Vanessa gets sad, but then her adoring followers comment on a post, and her sadness vanishes.

As Vanessa reaches 30, her followers stand still at over half a million. There are younger stars surpassing her, and she is envious of women with children. At a party, she meets Victor Coleman. His mom is a senator from Maryland, and he works in finance. The sex is subpar, but everything else is fine, so he asks her to marry him, and Saskia is excited: Vanessa has a new story to document.

Yet Victor becomes increasingly annoyed with the demands of Instagram. He does not want to eat a red velvet cupcake for a post, and he scolds her for posting a photo of her dad’s hands as he’s dying in a hospital due to pancreatic cancer. Vanessa tells him that she has built a community. Victor replies that they are strangers, and nothing she does is authentic.

After they break up, Vanessa discovers that William left Stonehaven to her, not Benny. However, she stays in New York, eating Italian ice cream and watching Netflix. Mr. Buggles, the Maltipoo, is run over, and followers complain about the lack of content. Vanessa thinks that she should move to Stonehaven and turn it into a new story for social media.

Stonehaven is cold and lonely. She posts happy bikini selfies, but she also spends a lot of time in bed glued to her Instagram. One morning, she goes to the boathouse and looks at Judybird. She imagines taking the yacht into the lake and jumping into the water. She tells herself that she is not her mom.

To keep herself sane, she rents out her cottage to various people: a German couple, three moms from San Francisco, a woman from Canada, and more. Up next is a creative couple from Portland: Ashley Smith and Michael O’Brien. She reads Ashley Smith’s website, and the emphasis on awareness and inner peace makes her feel like it was created for her.

In the morning sun, Vanessa spots Ashley doing yoga on the lawn. Vanessa has not posted in 12 hours, and Ashley looks wonderful, so Vanessa takes her picture and posts it without telling her. Vanessa wonders what Ashley thinks of her and compares Ashley to her shallow friendships with Saskia, Evangeline, Maya, and Trini. She invites Ashley into the library and catches her staring at a family photo. Vanessa tells her that her mom died when was 19, her dad died this year, and her brother is not well. Vanessa admits that she feels lonely.

Ashley says that her dad, a dentist, died of a heart attack, and her mom, a nurse, is sick. Vanessa repeats a quote from Ashley’s Facebook, and Vanessa tells her she is an Instagram star. Ashley does not like social media: It turns life into a performance.

Ashley smells herself and realizes that she needs to take a shower. Before she goes, she asks about Vanessa’s dad, and Vanessa says that her dad made bad choices but was good. They are almost in the kitchen when Ashley stops. She left her yoga mat in the library. She goes to get it—she is gone for a long time. When she returns, Vanessa says she is glad they can be friends.