Roisin O'Donnell

This is a really, REALLY good debut novel. The subject matter, while common enough, was paced so well that it largely evoked suspense and fear. The characters were fully inhabited and felt real. Great psychological insights into emotional abuse. The world that this novel evoked was claustrophobic and scary. While a few areas of the novel dragged for me here and there, on the whole this was really really good writing and on the whole, quite satisfying (if downbeat).

Set in Dublin in 2018, this novel highlights the harsh realities of life faced by women wanting to escape from intimate partner abuse.

Ciara Fay makes a spontaneous decision to leave her psychologically abusive husband Ryan, taking her daughters, 4-year-old Sophie and 2-year-old Ella, with her. With no financial means or network of support, they end up living in a hotel room on a floor reserved for unhoused families like hers. She faces so many obstacles as she tries to make a new life for show more herself and her children.

The novel focuses on emotional rather than physical abuse. Thus far Ryan has never hurt her though he has coerced her to have sex. His abuse is more subtle and so more difficult to convey or prove. On the surface he is handsome and a good provider; he shows the world only his attentiveness towards his family. Ciara knows that “his kindness is a choice. A decision he makes in order to achieve an end.” In private he is totally domineering. Prone to unpredictable outbursts of anger, he targets his wife. He controls the family finances, monitors Ciara’s movements, isolates her from family and friends, and belittles her so any self-confidence is totally undermined.

Ciara faces so many obstacles. Having been financially dependent on Ryan, she has few savings to provide for herself and her children. Finding housing proves to be a never-ending search. She has no support system in Dublin and has to navigate bureaucratic red tape. Her attempts to find housing and a job are complicated by her having to look after two young children. Her discovery that she is pregnant only adds to her difficulties.

And of course there’s the emotional toll. She is disheartened, confused, and fearful. Ryan’s gaslighting has sown self-doubt in Ciara’s mind so she is often questioning her judgment and decision: Is leaving the right thing to do or should she go back as she did once before? She and other women like her come to learn that “’Leaving is one thing, but saying away is another.’” Ryan pressures her to return. Feeling she has lost herself, the only voice she hears in her mind is Ryan’s. And there’s the shame she feels because of her situation and because she placates Ryan for fear of what he might do.

I found this a very tense read because I was totally invested in the fate of Ciara and her children. Ryan is a volatile character so every encounter with Ryan is fraught with danger: how will he threaten and intimidate her? Will Ciara be able to find appropriate housing and support her family? Will she be able to overcome Ryan’s brainwashing, fight his manipulation, and find the courage to stay away?

Some of the symbolism is heavy-handed. There’s the nestling crow that Ryan brings home, supposedly to help it. Despite odds, it survives, but ends up a captive. Kept on a tether, it becomes something Ryan can control. He seems to have no real affection for it; instead, the crow becomes a source of entertainment. Obviously the crow’s life parallels Ciara’s, as does its fate at the end.

This is a disturbing but compelling read. There is no doubt that it is a realistic portrayal of the almost impossible odds a woman can face if she makes the life-altering choice to leave an abusive relationship.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Nesting is about a woman leaving an emotionally abusive marriage. While that is difficult enough, being homeless and having to raise two children in a hotel room while pregnant makes things more complex. It’s emotional and haunting with characters that get under the reader’s skin.

Ciara’s self-esteem has been eroded by Ryan for many years. He’s cold, threatening and prone to abrupt changes in temper. Ciara left once but returned to him, something that he holds over her in every fight. show more But with the last ounce of strength, she leaves him one day with their two children and pregnant with their third. Ciara’s family have wanted her to leave, but nobody was prepared for what happens after she leaves him. Money is worse than tight, with Ciara having to feed her children instant noodles. Housing is also non-existent in Dublin and government supports heavy with bureaucracy and complexity. She, Sophie and Ella end up making their home in a hotel room with other displaced families. The rules are strict but the people of the fifth floor look out for each other. There are also custody battles to fight with Ryan, alongside his family belittling her as a bad mother. Even working is difficult for Ciara with the two children and her pregnancy. And even as things begin to look up, Ryan is ready to try to tear down everything that Ciara has achieved.

Nesting is an emotional book of abuse, poverty, love and perseverance. Ciara has very little money, support and self-esteem when she leaves Ryan (who to everyone else is absolutely perfect – the classic emotional abuser). It’s by no means easy – in fact, it’s bloody difficult – and O’Donnell captures that brilliantly in the one step forward, two steps back way that Ciara navigates life as someone society would like to forget about. The bleakness of it all, exemplified by the weather – dull, rainy, freezing or uncomfortably stifling – is affecting. O’Donnell captures brilliantly what happens after a woman leaves an abusive marriage and it’s not pretty. It’s made easier to see why these women go back – the known can be less scary than the unknown. Being homeless plagues Ciara’s thoughts as she tries to cook in the hotel room or afford nutritious meals outside, stands in line to complete forms and ‘checks in’ with the hotel before curfew each night. O’Donnell also makes Ryan a truly creepy character. He’s unpredictable, cruel and always as one more trick up his sleeve. This makes the friendships Ciara has even more of a highlight amongst what is a dark, affecting read.

Nesting is a book where you will think about the characters long after the book is closed. Ciara’s strength to continue when almost everything and everyone is against her is a triumph. It’s a quietly powerful read.

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Kirkus starred review: In Dublin, a pregnant woman with two little girls flees a controlling, critical husband.

O’Donnell’s striking debut opens with what looks from a distance like a happy family at the seashore. Close up, the water is too cold, the wind is too strong, and as tiny as they are, the girls have outgrown their wetsuits and their father is screaming at their mother, demanding to know what she’d done with the money he gave her to buy new ones. By the end of the first show more chapter, we want to get away from Ryan as badly as Ciara does, even if he’s handsome, loyal, a good provider, and hasn’t actually hit her...yet. That wetsuit money has been tucked away in a diaper bag in preparation for something Ciara hasn’t quite admitted to herself she’s going to do. And then, at last, it’s time. O’Donnell’s novel follows Ciara, Ella, and Sophie as they negotiate the harsh realities of sudden homelessness, father’s rights, and the Irish housing crisis. Ciara’s mother and sister live in England, she’s lost her pre-marriage friends, and she can pay for no more than one night’s accommodation with that roll of bills. With Ryan constantly hounding her by text, she eventually finds her way into emergency accommodations in a hotel with a dedicated floor for unhoused women and families. Here, she will make a friend and begin to figure out next steps—which are that much more complicated when a pregnancy test reveals the reason for her recent nausea and exhaustion. The mounting tension and suspense as Ciara struggles to stay free and safe make the pages fly. O’Donnell gives us a great character to root for and a portrait of her situation that is both terrifying and ultimately inspiring. An afterword confirms the impression that it’s based on research into real women’s experiences.

A propulsive, nuanced, achingly real novel that will appeal to both Colleen Hoover fans and devotees of Irish fiction. show less