Birding : Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2025

Birding is a beautiful, witty and powerful story set in an out of season seaside town about two women poised between a past they feel trapped by and a future just beyond reach. Will they both find a way to soar, despite clipped wings?

'If you're heading to a British seaside town this summer, the book you should take with you is Birding by Rose Ruane . . . Ruane is a marvellous writer whose prose glitters with perfect metaphors and wincingly caustic one-liners. In fact you should take this on holiday wherever you're going' Jonathan Coe, Guardian'I have GULPED this novel down . . . Birding gave me everything I want in a novel, including a massive, cathartic cry at the end. Achingly poignant, yet ultimately hopeful, with a worn out seaside town I can see so clearly' Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things'A beautiful book full of stark truths . . . Lyrical and evocative, highly recommended' Evie King, author of Ashes to Admin'I've had my socks absolutely knocked off (again) by Rose Ruane's latest novel Birding. It made me rage, reflect, howl with laughing, worry and blub. Gentle, strong, important and hopeful. I am in awe and couldn't recommend it more highly' Jessica Fostekew, writer, actor and co-host of The Guilty FeministIn the nineties, Lydia was one half of a teen pop group. Their image was sexy, edgy, girly yet 'in control'. The reality was very different. Now, thirty years later, with #MeToo revelations a daily reality, a famous ex-lover resurfaces with a slick, self-serving apology, demanding forgiveness. Suddenly, Lydia is overwhelmed with memories of a harmful time in her life that refuses to leave her in peace. Meanwhile, Joyce has never left home and the suffocating grip of her mother, Betty. For decades their lives have intertwined, even wearing matching dresses and make-up, as they follow a rigid daily routine. A single misstep can send Betty spiralling, so Joyce stays inside the tracks. But something unfamiliar is rising inside Joyce - a whispered what if . . . Against the faded backdrop of a once-grand seaside resort, Lydia and Joyce are trapped in worlds of their own making. But as they both confront their pasts - the toxic men, the forgotten dreams, the twisted expectations - fate is about to throw them together, as they wrestle with the question: Can we ever truly take flight on broken wings?