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Nesting

Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2025; the tender, soaring debut you won't be able to forget

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About this listen

 This audiobook is narrated by Louisa Harland, star of Derry Girls and Renegade Nell.

WINNER OF THE AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARDS NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2025

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND IRISH TIMES BESTSELLER

LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2025

A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK AT BEDTIME

A BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK

AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT NOVELIST OF 2025

'Tense, forensically realistic and compulsively readable. A real achievement' SUNDAY TIMES

‘Here is a novelist who has powerful news to tell, and an impressive range of narrative gifts with which to tell it’ IRISH TIMES

‘Should become essential reading for all. Nesting? is a novel that truly matters’ SUNDAY INDEPENDENT

'A moving portrait of life inside the housing system and the courage it takes to try to build a home in society’s cracks'? GUARDIAN
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An extraordinary and urgent debut by a prize-winning Irish writer, NESTING introduces an unforgettable new voice in fiction.

On a bright spring afternoon in Dublin, Ciara Fay makes a split-second decision that will change everything. Grabbing an armful of clothes from the washing line, Ciara 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.

This was meant to be an escape. But with dwindling savings, no job, and her family across the sea, Ciara finds herself adrift, facing a broken housing system and the voice of her own demons. As summer passes and winter closes in, she must navigate raising her children in a hotel room, searching for a new home and dealing with her husband Ryan’s relentless campaign to get her to come back. Because leaving is one thing, but staying away is another.

What will it take for Ciara to rebuild her life? Can she ever truly break away from Ryan’s control – and what will be the cost?

Tense, beautiful, and underpinned by an unassailable love, hope and resilience, this is the story of one woman’s bid to start over.
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‘Brand-new, urgent and hugely satisfying’ RODDY DOYLE

'As emotionally charged as it is brutally real. The writing is flawless. I was profoundly moved’ ELAINE FEENEY

‘Will make your blood boil and your heart soar. This is an important novel' CLAIRE KILROY

‘Gorgeous, maddening, thrilling and compassionate’ SHEILA ARMSTRONG Editors Select Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Political Women's Fiction Women's Voices World Literature Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking Tear-jerking

Critic reviews

‘Nesting is a powerful novel. Brand-new, urgent, and hugely satisfying’
‘A gorgeous, maddening, thrilling and compassionate book. Roisín O’Donnell so expertly captures the dull thud of dread and the frailty of hope. Nesting shows us that the quietest voice in the room can also be the most powerful’
'Nesting is a haunting, deeply affecting debut novel by Roisín O’Donnell – 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'
‘O'Donnell presents as her hero a woman society has chosen not to hear, not to see. Nesting will make your blood boil and your heart soar, sometimes on the same page. This is an important novel’
‘Clear, urgent and compassionate, Nesting will sweep you along, heart in mouth’
‘Roisín O’Donnell tackles the unsettling cruelties and manipulations of coercive control with insight and emotional complexity. The voice is authentic, vivid and important. The final dedication to ‘anyone trapped in a place that does not feel like home’ says everything. Emotionally charged, psychologically nuanced and full of compassion and possibility, I read with my heart in my mouth’
‘Such a moving, heartfilled, urgent book’
‘Nesting is a triumph in empathy. This novel is achingly beautiful and utterly necessary. O’Donnell’s attentiveness to language shines from every page. A book to open eyes and hearts. O’Donnell imbues her characters’ circumscribed domestic space with a page-turning emotional urgency’
‘Nesting is a triumph of a novel. I raced through it. A beautifully crafted, unflinching portrait of the lengths a mother must go to to make a home for herself and those she loves'
‘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’
‘Paced like a thriller, Nesting is a deep, beautiful, hopeful meditation on trauma, healing and love’
‘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'
‘Such a beautiful and real portrayal of contemporary Dublin’
All stars
Most relevant
Incredible novel...beautifully written & exquisitely read. Characters I felt really invested in. Sometimes heartbreaking - a hard listen, as it depicts coercive control & its effects on the victim so accurately. But the love of family & friends lightens the tone. Only Ciara can decide how her life will be...I swung between hope & despair again & again... I'll leave you to find out what she ultimately decides. I had to listen to the whole thing in one sitting - it's now 4:52 am & I can at last go to sleep. A book that will stay with me.

Heartbreaking STUNNING

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The perspective of this book is so realistic, you understand the pain , the mental exhaustions and the effort to break the cycle

Excellent

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Couldn’t put this down - a brilliantly written account handling such a sensitive subject with grace and eloquence. I felt everything Ciara felt.

Gripping from start to finish

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Beautifully and sensitively written a difficult subject openly tackled very emotional highly recommend
Thank you!

Gripping story

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This story hits hard. extraordinarily honest storytelling, bitterly sad, painful and yet acflickervof hope! excellent narrator! I highly recommend this book but it will get under your skin.

Outstanding, heartbreaking, hopeful

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