Nesting is the heartrending literary debut by Irish author Roisin O'Donnell.
I've read a few books featuring down-trodden women with overbearing, gaslighting husbands and I feel that Roisin O'Donnell has the emotion and uncertainty just right.
Some readers may feel Ciara is pathetic. Why doesn't she just leave Ryan? Why does she keep returning to him? This is where O'Donnell adeptly shows the hold these men have on their partners. Ciara loves him, he promises to do better, he loves her and can't live without her, he's wonderful with the children and they love him.
These are the thoughts, and manipulations by Ryan, that possess Ciara when she keeps returning to her marriage.
There is a continuous foreboding feel all through the novel which kept me glued to the pages.
O'Donnell's writing is beautiful and evocative. I could feel Ciara's fear, indecision and hopelessness. I was rooting for her to stay strong and survive through even the worst times of homelessness and hunger.
O'Donnell shows how a controlling male can slowly take over your life until you don't know who you are anymore, there is no beyond being his wife.
Nesting highlights the need for more social housing and refuges for women. It's not all gloom though there are unexpected friendships made and women banding together and helping each other.
Nesting is a beautiful story of motherhood and resilience. It's a hard read but so rewarding in its depth of characters and emotion.
Content: Coercive control
Emotional abuse
My rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Imprint: Scribner Australia
Publication date: 29th January 2025
Genre: Literary Fiction
Pages: 400
RRP: AU$34.99 (trade paperback)
Source: Courtesy of the publisher
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