ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – Fledging by Rose Diell

Fledging by Rose Diell is published by Renard Press and available now. My thanks to Will Dady for the proof copy and for asking me to be a part of the blog tour.

When Lia lays an egg she doesn’t know what to do. At her age, it’s impossible to escape the baby question, and all her friends seem to be having children. She feels her heart’s not in it – but all the same, there’s the egg, impossible to ignore, lying in a nest of towels in the living room. Her partner on tour on the other side of the world and her mother diagnosed with a terminal illness, Lia finds herself torn, unsure whether she’s ready to give up on her songwriting dreams; but time is running out, and she must make one of the biggest decisions of her life. Beautifully written and brilliantly original, Fledging is a riveting tale and resounding call for a woman’s right to make her own choices, whether that means embracing motherhood or living child-free.

What a premise. ‘When Lia lays an egg she doesn’t know what to do.’ In all honesty, I wasn’t sure if this book might be a little bit out of my comfort zone but I thought it was a brilliant read.

Lia is at that age when the pressure is on to decide whether she wants to have children. Her internal clock is ticking away but when the time comes for the alarm to sound she doesn’t know if she will spring into action or simply turn over and go back to sleep, carrying on as she always has. It doesn’t help that her friends, her mother, her partner, all keep asking her what she wants.

Fledging begins with Lia birthing an egg and from the very first page this is a compelling and honest look at the big question that women face. She’s also dealing with her mother’s terminal illness and her partner, David, is working away for months so she’s on her own with this existential crisis whilst trying to launch a career in songwriting.

Rose Diell writes beautifully of Lia’s relationships with both her mother and the contents of the egg. The themes explored truly consider choice, the weight of expectation, and motherhood and whether it is simply a woman’s role in life to procreate, in a thoroughly convincing way. This unusual and original novella of 172 pages packs a mighty punch, serving up a surreal event within the confines of a normal life. I’ll be looking out for more by this talented author.

Rose Diell is a Londoner of Italian, Norwegian and American heritage. She writes in her spare time, with the encouragement and support of her writing circle, the Southbank Scribblers, whom she met through a City Lit writing course. She loves studying language in all its forms and speaks Italian, French and Arabic. She has also lived in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Rose lives in London with her civil partner and Tolstoy, an extremely fluffy ginger tabby. Fledging is her first novel.