Nesting
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4.4 • 8 Ratings
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
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.
Longlisted for the Women's Prize • An Instant Bestseller in Ireland and the UK
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This introspective work of Irish literary fiction is a testament to the determination it takes to rebuild a life on your own terms. While raising two kids under the shadow of a controlling partner, the pregnant Ciara suddenly packs up her daughters and leaves, gambling that even a precarious life in a dreary hotel room is better than suffering under her husband’s emotional abuse. Roisín O’Donnell details the psychological mechanics of abuse with formidable nuance, illustrating how charm segues into manipulation and how isolation becomes its own invisible cage. O’Donnell also carefully infuses elements of hope into Nesting, as Ciara seeks solace in everyday tasks in the hotel turned shelter, from befriending other women there to giving her kids a daily routine. Narrator Louisa Harland captures the tale with superb emotional range and a crisp Irish accent to fit the Dublin setting. If you enjoy stories with a healthy dose of realism, this tale of resilience is an essential listen.
