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LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2025
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
THE INSTANT IRISH TIMES NUMBER 2 BESTSELLER
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.
_______________________________________________________________’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

Publisher Review

‘Nesting is a powerful novel. Brand-new, urgent, and hugely satisfying’ * Roddy Doyle, author of The Women Behind the Door * ‘A gorgeous, maddening, thrilling and compassionate book. Roisin 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’ * Sheila Armstrong, author of Falling Animals * ‘Nesting is a haunting, deeply affecting debut novel by Roisin 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’ * Elaine Feeney, author of How to Build a Boat * ‘Clear, urgent and compassionate, Nesting will sweep you along, heart in mouth’ * Lucy Caldwell, author of Openings * ‘Roisin 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’ * Una Mannion, author of Tell Me What I Am * ‘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’ * Danielle McLaughlin, author of The Art of Falling * ‘Such a moving, heartfilled, urgent book’ * Jan Carson, author of The Raptures * ‘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’ * Louise Nealon, author of Snowflake * ‘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’ * Chelsea Bieker, author of Madwoman * ‘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 Roisin O’Donnell’ * Mary Beth Keane, author of Ask Again, Yes * ‘Paced like a thriller, Nesting is a deep, beautiful, hopeful meditation on trauma, healing and love’ * Jessica Stanley, author of Consider Yourself Kissed * ‘Such a beautiful and real portrayal of contemporary Dublin’ * Ana Kinsella, author of Look Here * ‘A dazzling debut, pin-sharp in its depiction of the insidious hooks of behind-closed-doors coercive control. O’Donnell handles her heroine’s pain and potential power with nuanced, page-turning aplomb. I was gripped to the end’ * Cristin Leach, author of Negative Space * ‘The rich tradition of women’s writing in the north of Ireland is being ably continued by writers such as Roisin O’Donnell’ * The Times, on The Glass Shore * ‘A beautiful collection from an interesting new author who handles space and time – those two bugbears of the short-story writer – with uncanny ease, fluidity and absolute grace’ * Irish Independent, on Wild Quiet *