Monday 9 February 2009

Coastliners by Joanne Harris


Coastliners by Joanne Harris
Pages -396
Challenges - New Author, 100+ books and A to Z titles.
I have always avoided Joanne Harris books. I thought they may be too romantic for my taste. So I was bit apprehensive when I was lent Coastliners. My friend assured me that I would love it, yet I put off reading it until now.

The prologue did not enthrall me as I found it too wordy. The first couple of chapters nearly put me off as their seemed so many characters to remember, that I had to keep referring back. However, after the first few chapters, I could not put the book down. I became so enthralled in this beautiful story showing how people pull together in times of adversity.

The story begins with the character Mado, who is returning to the island of her birth place after the death of her mother. She seeks out her uncommunicative father and tries to build a relationship with him. Whilst there, she uncovers the secret of the village's destruction and with the help of Finn brings the village together to save their homes.

The characters are beautiful written and you can't help liking them.The description of the island is breathtaking, I found myself wishing to pack my bags and books and head straight there to stay. There are elements of the story that I would not have guessed at all and I found myself saying 'No way, really!' the more I read of it. The story had a mixture of laughter and sadness within it's pages.
So although in the beginning, I wasn't taken with the story, by the end, I was left wanting more and I will definitely need to get hold of some more Joanne Harris books.
Joanne Harris has written quite a selection of books which seem to cover a range of genres. I have attached a link to her website for you to have a look.


I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes romance mixed with subtle suspense.

Have any of you read any Joanne Harris books? If you have, which ones would you recommend?

3 comments:

  1. I've read a few Joanne Harris books. I've enjoyed everything I've read. Chocolat being my favourite. Blackberry Wine is told using an interesting perspective. I remember liking Five Quarters of the Orange but can't remember the details of it. Like you, I struggled a bit with the beginning of Coastliners but I'm glad I made it through. I've avoided her horror stories, but I'd definately like to read Runemarks if only it wasn't so large.

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  2. I read Chocolat and liked it. I liked the film better though.
    Great review, this does sound pretty good.
    http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/

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  3. I have just bought this book about a week ago together with other Joanne Harris titles. I hope to dig into it soon. It sure sounds like a good book.

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