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A Novel
by Roisín O'Donnell
Book Reviewed by:From an unforgettable new voice in Irish fiction, 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 husband, Ryan, is a good provider, sometimes even kind and attentive, from a nice Irish 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?
For fans of Claire Keegan and Louise Kennedy, Roisín O'Donnell's extraordinary debut creates a devastating and suspenseful portrait of gaslighting and emotional abuse—and even better, a triumphant story about family, love, and finding a new place to nest.
What are you reading this week? (3/6/2025)
I finished Becoming Madam Secretary and enjoyed it very much. I thought it was perfectly crafted historical fiction, and I'm looking forward to the discussion next week. I just started Nesting by Roisín O'Donnell. It's a fast but intense read about a woman trying to leave her emotionally abusive ...
-kim.kovacs
The reader anxiously follows Ciara as she tries to get help from various government services and organizations. O'Donnell is painfully realistic about the challenges of relying on these types of assistance, and brilliantly conveys the stress that underlies even Ciara's most mundane days... Nesting often reads like a thriller, partly because of these tense, anxiety-inducing scenes in which Ciara's livelihood is at risk, and partly because of Ryan's presence looming over the narrative...continued
Full Review
(740 words)
(Reviewed by Kim Kovacs).
Chelsea Bieker, author of Madwoman and Godshot
Nesting is a perfect portrayal of the insidious nature of intimate partner abuse where the bruises are not physical, but violently emotional. I fell in love with the voice of Ciara as she sets out to create a new life against all odds for herself and her children. A story of bravery, love, and redemption, chock full of emotional suspense—I couldn't look away. A high-wire act of a debut. Elaine Feeney, Booker-longlisted author of How to Build a Boat
Nesting is a haunting, deeply affecting debut novel—a gripping and unflinching exploration of coercive partner control, societal inequality, motherhood and the terrifying reality of a world closing in fast when you have no options left. An incredibly compelling tale of survival. It is as emotionally charged as it is brutally real, the writing is flawless. I was profoundly moved. Mary Beth Keane, New York Times bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes and The Half Moon
What an extraordinary debut! I clutched this book tightly as I read, and rooted for Ciara from page one. Nesting is an unputdownable story of love, courage, and survival. I look forward to whatever comes next for Roisín O'Donnell.
Ciara Fay, the protagonist of Roisín O'Donnell's novel, Nesting, is the victim of emotional abuse, although she remains unaware of this for most of the book. Also referred to as psychological abuse or psychological aggression, this behavior erodes another person's sense of self-worth until they develop a psychological dependency on their abuser. Although emotional abuse can be as damaging as physical abuse, it can be hard to detect, particularly if a person grew up in an emotionally abusive environment. Since it leaves no outward marks on the victim, those afflicted often can't prove they've been abused even if they gather the strength to leave the relationship; without proof, it comes down to one person's word against another's.
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