Coastliners

After three novels which centred around gastronomic pleasures Joanne Harris's new book, Coastliners, focuses on more astringent joys. Sea, gritty sand and adverse weather conditions replace Chocolat, Blackberry Wine and Five Quarters of the Orange. Set on a small, blustery fishing island off the coast of France, it tells the story of Mado, a young woman who returns to her childhood home to find the local community torn apart by family feuds, bad tides and murky political machinations.

Passionate, stubborn Mado, whose "head is full of rocks" tries to save the livelihoods of the villagers of Les Salants by urging them to work together to save the beach from erosion, both natural and man-made. The villagers, written with endearing panache by Harris, are an eccentric, curmudgeonly bunch, who eventually cooperate with the help of Flynn, a charismatic stranger with a shady past. He's not the only man of mystery in Mado's life; her father, taciturn Grosjean, has a secretive heart that's as "prickly and tightly layered as an artichoke", and local, wealthy businessman Brismand also seems to be hiding something. Mado does her best to unravel these mysteries, while attempting to keep a hold on her own sense of self in the claustrophobic, close community. It's not only the shore line that takes a buffeting. The villagers and the island are so vividly described that it's impossible not to become engrossed in Mado's story. Coastliners is a book about longing to belong, and Joanne Harris charts that emotional voyage compellingly. --Eithne Farry

View other editions of Coastliners.
View books by Joanne Harris.

Deja vu; deja vu; deja vu - Rated
Starting to read this (thankfully library copy) book reminded me why I had stopped reading Joanne Harris.

Chocolat was a magical and enjoyable read, but i did begin to get that 'we have been here before' sense creeping up on me with both 'Five Quarters' and 'Blackberry Wine' Though 'Coastliners' doesn't follow the same food route, there is something very repetitious about Harris' writing - the 'outsider', the tight, often prejudiced community etc etc.

Some writers can repeat their same basic story but their depth of writing uncovers new truths, some writers (for example the wonderful Rose Tremaine) are endlessly original in every book - Harris is neither of these, and does her own same old same old - as several reviewers noted, the word 'formulaic' springs to mind. I abandoned Coastliners within about 50 pages and it is back on the library shelf

Reliable as ever... - Rated
You can't really go wrong with Joanne Harris. This is another page-turning, totally engaging tale with plenty of plot twists. Formulaic it may be, but her formula certainly seems to work. I much prefered this to Chocolat, but it's not as good as the black-hearted, sitting-up-till-4am read that is Five Quarters of the Orange.

so sweet, so enchanted - Rated
Whenever I read a Joanna Harris thing, its the same... small villages, modern times and the necessity to change, strangers and people who come back and change something...I liked all books of her, but I love Coastliners. Everyone who knows a small village, struggling to keep their youth, their way of living and the connection with nature, history and religion that has been a foundation of the village life for so long, will know what Joanna Harris is writing about. Everyone who loves such a small village will love this book, and others will, too. You will feel the island, feel secluded, safe and at the same time, desperate and afraid, when you read this book.

Fab - Rated
I really enjoyed this. It's a little slow in places, but the wonderful descriptive narrative keeps you going and you become so involved in the characters, you cannot put it down by about half way.

This isn't Joanna Harris' best novel (Chocolat!) but still very enjoyable. Think somewhere in between Jane Austen and modern chick-lit.

Lightweight! - Rated
The story lacks the depth and originality that J.Harris demonstrated in some of her other works. I had the feeling that this book was written just to publish something new . What a disappointment!