Nesting
Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2025; the tender, soaring debut you won't be able to forget
Description of book
This audiobook is narrated by Louisa Harland, star of Derry Girls and Renegade Nell.
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2025
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND IRISH TIMES 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.
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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
Ratings & reviews
4.6
★★★★☆107 ratings
Well-written · Unforgettable · Moving
4.8
★★★★☆108 ratings
Perfect match · Captivating · Credible
Caroline
I’m lost for words. This book has had an incredible impact on me in terms of both the subject matter and the characters. I was constantly on tenterhooks waiting for the axe to fall. Deeply moving this isn’t an easy read but the resilience and bravery of the main female character shines throughout the prose as do the voices of the two wee girls. Highly recommendI recommend
Book★5
Character-driven · Moving · Unforgettable · Discussion starter · Well-written · Trigger warning · Sad
Narration★5
Perfect match
Rebekka
This made me feel so uneasy holy moly . The writing is strong yet sensitive. I had to pause a few times when Ryan’s emotional abuse and manipulation triggered my own fight or flight mode. What a nightmare. Ciara’s complicated circumstances and her fears felt uncomfortably realistic. I rooted for her and the kids a lot. Unforgettable characters and an incredibly well told story. The speaker is perfect as well.I recommend
Book★5
Dark · Well-written · Trigger warning · Nerve-wracking · Masterpiece · Moving · Nightmare terrors
Narration★5
Perfect match
- Brillant book and fabulously narrated. Big TW if you’ve experienced abuse and gaslighting but it is also explained so well that it gives you a feeling of being understood.
Ella
Book★5
Narration★5
- Absolutely loved this debut novel. I wasn't sure whether I would enjoy it as it is about coercive control, but it is written extremely well and captures the topic very well. I really felt for the main character, you really feel her frustration, her fear, her strength and her struggles!
Carolyn
the narrator has a beautiful voice and captured all the characters well, except the children. Their voices are too loud and deep, children usually have high pitched voices.
I absolutely recommend this novel! I was gripped from the first chapter and finished it really quickly, I couldn't stop listening any spare moment I hadBook★5
Narration★4
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