false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171498013m/103448.jpg 103448 30 After three novels which centered around gastronomic pleasures, Joanne Harris's <I>Coastliners</I> focuses on more astringent joys. Sea, gritty sand, and adverse weather conditions replace <I>Chocolat</I>, <I>Blackberry Wine</I>, and <I>Five Quarters of the Orange</I>. 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. <p> 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. <I>Coastliners</I> is a book about longing to belong, and Joanne Harris charts that emotional voyage compellingly. <I>--Eithne Farry, Amazon.co.uk</I> 3201441 2002 Coastliners: A Novel total:867|5:86|4:267|3:359|2:122|1:33| 867 2852 1139 86 2 1 true false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 10 17:29:03 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 13 17:33:26 -0700 2009 1
This is the story of a group of families who live in a village on an island off the coas...more...]]> 3 0 false true Wed Sep 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 10 20:29:54 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 22:16:51 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Thu Jan 24 13:38:35 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 31 00:16:25 -0800 2008 3 1 false false Sun Oct 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 30 14:46:25 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 14:20:00 -0700 2009 Nice little story, but painfully slow

A young woman, Mado, returns to the island of her birth following the death of her mother in Paris. She has been scraping a living as a painter, but the small, split community of the Brittany island of Le Devin seems to be calling to her. She wants to...more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 24 09:54:50 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 24 10:02:29 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Sep 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 20 23:34:20 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 22 07:15:35 -0700 2009
I was annoyed by her penchant for red haired strangers who are good with their hands and help build things, yet harbour a hard streak and a troubled past.

As with her other books, it mystifies me that she'...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Apr 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 19 07:52:22 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 28 11:41:50 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Mar 05 12:46:55 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 27 09:07:05 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jul 05 05:06:13 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 05 05:06:57 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jul 14 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Jun 13 14:53:43 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 13 14:53:43 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Sep 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 30 20:07:04 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 13 13:03:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Mar 11 13:57:26 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 11 14:58:12 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri May 14 00:00:00 -0700 2004 Sun Jan 11 10:12:20 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 11 10:12:20 -0800 2009
Set on an island off the western coast of France. Mado returns after the death of her mohter. Her father, GrosJean, is quite and uncommunicative. She tries to help the islanders and discovers that a wealth resident has ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 05:53:38 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 05:55:58 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Mon Jun 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 22 19:06:37 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 22 19:08:12 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Thu Mar 19 20:21:20 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 19 20:25:12 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sun Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Wed Jan 23 21:50:59 -0800 2008 Tue Mar 25 15:41:49 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun May 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun May 31 21:28:30 -0700 2009 Sun May 31 21:32:19 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Apr 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 02 09:44:33 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 09 11:24:23 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri Jun 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 19 10:18:28 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 19 10:20:03 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=103448