Nesting
A Novel
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- USD 12.99
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- USD 12.99
Publisher Description
Longlisted for the Women's Prize • An Instant Bestseller in Ireland and the UK
In this beautiful, urgent, and ultimately uplifting novel by a rising Irish literary star comes a heart-pounding, life-affirming story about one woman trying to leave her marriage and start over.
On a bright spring afternoon, Ciara Fay makes a split-second decision that will change everything. Grabbing an armful of clothes off the clothesline, she straps her two young daughters into her car and drives away. Head spinning, all she knows for certain is that home is no longer safe—and that this time, when she leaves, she must stay away.
On the surface, she has a perfect life: her sometimes kind and attentive husband, Ryan, is a good provider from a nice family, and they have another baby on the way. But he also monitors Ciara's every move, flies into unpredictable rages where he convinces her she can do nothing right, and has isolated her from work, friends, and her beloved family.
Was fleeing the right thing to do? With no job and no support, Ciara struggles to provide a sense of normalcy for her little girls. Facing a broken housing system, they move into a hotel room on a floor reserved for women like her, eating takeout, washing their clothes in the bathroom sink, and building a community with the other residents. Ryan, meanwhile, wages a relentless campaign to win her back, and Ciara wavers. He never hit her, after all, and don't the girls need a stable home?
Suspenseful and all-consuming, Roisín O'Donnell’s extraordinary debut creates a devastating portrait of gaslighting and emotional abuse. Ultimately, Nesting is a triumphant story about self-determination, family, and resilience.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
A pregnant Irish woman and her two little girls flee an abusive marriage in this striking domestic drama. Ciara Fay makes an uncharacteristic last-minute decision to leave her controlling husband, Ryan. But when her plans to escape to her mother in England fall apart, she finds herself lost and alone, battling a convoluted and broken housing system. We were riveted by Ciara’s struggles as she tries to rebuild the fragments of her life, all while her husband viciously berates her to return home. Both heart-wrenching and pacey, Roisín O’Donnell’s stellar debut often feels like a tense thriller. Despite the hardship, Ciara shows incredible strength and courage, which left us with an overriding sense of optimism and hope. This moving and lyrical deep dive into one woman’s personal battle will appeal to fans of Sally Rooney and Claire Keegan.
