It starts as bloating, a hard curvature in my gut that won’t go away…

When Lia lays an egg she doesn’t know what to do.

Book blurb

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.

My thoughts

Lia is in a quandary at her age shouldn’t she be having children? She and David have discussed it, not coming to any conclusion. Now David is away on a scholarship so it’s a discussion for another day.

Lia’s friend Safa is expecting and will soon become a mum. That will be two friends as Dimitri is already a father. Is this why she’s thinking so much about it? Having children. Or is it because of the pain she has been having? Or her mother?

None of this addresses the issue of the egg! Fledging opens as Lia is gripped with pain and gives birth to an egg! What does it mean? What should she do? Who can she tell?

What a strange world we have entered with Lia. Lia a songwriter who earns a living from spreadsheets. If she doesn’t make it in the songwriting industry then what will she have done with her life? Only she will care.

If she doesn’t become a mother what will she have done with her life? Choosing not to have children will that make her life less? Why are women perceived as ‘less’ if they don’t have children? The pressure of family, society, men, friends, themselves there is so much more to consider but why? Why should so many more care whether a woman chooses to have children, or not? What has it to do with them?

This is a brilliantly written book that takes the preposterous situation of Lia giving birth to an egg to put perspective on a real life dilemma. This allegorical tale is a story that has a very important point to make. Yes, Fledging is a story about choice, the right to choose. A woman’s right to choose whether or not to be a mother and importantly that whichever choice is made it is a valid one. You are not less – either way.

I loved the relationship between Lia and her mother. They both know that her mother hasn’t long to live and Lia has a question about her grandmother. It’s a question that is difficult to ask as her mother has always avoided answering. This is very well handled through the book and brings a different perspective on motherhood. On how becoming a mother, perhaps unexpectedly but certainly when it comes unwanted, affects the child and the mother/child relationship.

Lia’s relationship with her friends is used to highlight the options if you will. Lia, Safa, Dimitri, Meg and Jess each is different. The way someone is expected to have or not have children doesn’t mean that this is that person’s choice. We are all different and the decisions we make are not, or shouldn’t be, based on what others think.

As for what we have done with our life is it always the big things that we should be measured by? Becoming famous, climbing the ladder in work, becoming a mother? Or is it simply the way we behave? Caring for others, being kind and loving. As Lia was when introducing Safa to Dimitri.

What about all those who toil at unglamorous jobs? Those jobs are often some of the most important yet financially least recognised. Monetary rewards don’t always reflect the real value of a job and often are not possible but there are other ways to show appreciation and value. A woman who chooses to not have children is as important as one who chooses to have them. Each can be appreciated, respected and acknowledged as contributing towards society in a positive way.

Fledging is a wonderful story, original in concept and execution it is beautifully, sensitively written. It deserves to be read widely. I hope it gets the recognition it deserves and flies off the shelves.

BlogTour – thanks

My heartfelt thanks to Will at Renard Press for an advance reading copy along with an invitation to read and share my thoughts on Fledging by Rose Diell.

https://twitter.com/RoseDiell/status/1828739272666448208/video/1

Information

Publisher: Renard Books | Paperback | 172pp | 28 August 2024 | ISBN: 9781804470893

Buy: Renard Books | Bookshop.org (affiliate link) | Hive | AmazonSmileUK | Your local bookshop | Your local library

Author: Rose Diell was born and raised in London but her heritage stems from various places beyond the British Isles. A lover of language in all its forms, she speaks French, Italian and Arabic, and has lived on three continents. Rose writes in her spare time, with the encouragement and support of her writing circle, the Southbank Scribblers. She now lives in London again, with her civil partner and Tolstoy, an extremely fluffy ginger tabby. Fledging is her first novel.

Author website | @RoseDiell on X | instagram: rosediellauthor