What do you think?
Rate this book
The Coast of Akron: A Novel
A Chicago Tribune Favorite Fiction Book of the Year
An Amazon.com Editors' Pick of the Year
A Newsday Best Book of the Year
The Coast of Akron is the story of the gloriously unorthodox, maladjusted, brilliant Haven clan. In the thirty years since artists Lowell and Jenny met, inspired each other, and separated, Lowell ascended to fame while Jenny mothered their talented and now-grown daughter, Merit. In an attempt to answer questions and heal old wounds, Lowell's dyspeptic lover, Fergus, lures the family and guests back to the hallowed faux-Tudor mansion where it all began. It is at this lavish gathering that long-standing secrets, as well as bonds, will be revealed.
An Amazon.com Editors' Pick of the Year
A Newsday Best Book of the Year
The Coast of Akron is the story of the gloriously unorthodox, maladjusted, brilliant Haven clan. In the thirty years since artists Lowell and Jenny met, inspired each other, and separated, Lowell ascended to fame while Jenny mothered their talented and now-grown daughter, Merit. In an attempt to answer questions and heal old wounds, Lowell's dyspeptic lover, Fergus, lures the family and guests back to the hallowed faux-Tudor mansion where it all began. It is at this lavish gathering that long-standing secrets, as well as bonds, will be revealed.
- GenresFiction
400 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2005
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 4, 2011
I added this book because I read it probably 5 years ago and still think about it regularly. I have read a lot of mixed reviews of this book, and I just don't see how anyone could fail to love it. The characters and images from Adrienne Miller's debut novel have never left me. I remember entire passages and scenes all this time later, and believe me, I've read a lot of books since then, as I read 4-5 a week sometimes and almost never fewer than 1 book a week. I cannot at all explain all the people who didn't love this book. It baffles me.
October 31, 2019
This is possibly the most idiotic book I have ever read and the end could not come soon enough. The characters are undeveloped and the book was littered with spelling, language and grammatical errors. Thank God it’s over.
June 21, 2015
I didn't care for this book, but I can respect it. I was surprised at its ending, and not in a good way. In a way that was unsatisfying. And I was disappointed by that, because I wanted to like this book. I should say that the writing is great in a lot of parts, because it really made me feel anxious about the life choices that the characters were making. But there's a shift in the book, about 2/3 of the way through, and it's hard to like anybody involved at that point. And that's fine, but I can't really figure out why we're made to feel that way, why it's important. The narration is split three ways, and it's cool how she does that -- one is first, another is third, and one is first via old journal entries. Cool.
But in a lot of cases, it's just a little too precious. A little too "look at me, I'm weird." Sometimes the weirdness is a good thing, but mostly it's an anvil weighing the book down.
But in a lot of cases, it's just a little too precious. A little too "look at me, I'm weird." Sometimes the weirdness is a good thing, but mostly it's an anvil weighing the book down.
May 28, 2013
I abhor an open ending, so the three stars was really a stretch for me on this one. But the writing was spectacular, as Miller certainly is deft at turning a phrase. The characters, while whiny, self-absorbed, and with the exception of one 13-year-old, rather unlikeable, are still compelling in spite of their faults.
You won't like them, and they make it tough to even pity them, but you'll still be very interested in finding out what happens to them. That's what keeps you reading this one, and also why the open ending was even more of a let down than these things usually are.
Still, it's a talent to entice readers to become invested in the fate of characters who for the most part disgust them, and Miller manages to do just that with vivid description, nuanced back story, and best of all, an understated yet pitch-perfect sense of humor.
You won't like them, and they make it tough to even pity them, but you'll still be very interested in finding out what happens to them. That's what keeps you reading this one, and also why the open ending was even more of a let down than these things usually are.
Still, it's a talent to entice readers to become invested in the fate of characters who for the most part disgust them, and Miller manages to do just that with vivid description, nuanced back story, and best of all, an understated yet pitch-perfect sense of humor.
July 16, 2007
I'm not sure how this book got a good review from the New York Times. I have never before read a book where I hated all of the characters.
June 7, 2021
Good thing I listened to this book on audio or I'm not sure I would have finished reading it. The 1st hour was extremely boring. The book was extremely long and the ending was confusing. Glad it's over!
August 1, 2020
I had a hard time finishing this. There were parts that I really liked but it was too long and the plot ultimately went nowhere.
November 23, 2020
Was not able to finish. Got totally lost 50 pages in and did not care for the characters as I was not able to find out who was who.
February 14, 2008
Well there went precious hours of my life that I'll never get back. I plodded through this at the recommendation of somebody -- I can't remember who, probably good for them, haha!
I trudged through the first part. By the middle it seemed like it would get interesting and there were a few twists I hadn't seen coming. I spent most of this evening finishing it off, having looked forward to getting to the end all day to see what happens.
It is horrible, it is not believable at all, the end is ambiguous, the characters don't make a whole lot of sense. I could go on and on. But basically I am begging my friends and family: don't waste your time. It truly sucked.
I trudged through the first part. By the middle it seemed like it would get interesting and there were a few twists I hadn't seen coming. I spent most of this evening finishing it off, having looked forward to getting to the end all day to see what happens.
It is horrible, it is not believable at all, the end is ambiguous, the characters don't make a whole lot of sense. I could go on and on. But basically I am begging my friends and family: don't waste your time. It truly sucked.
October 17, 2008
\this is what I'm reading now. So far it's tedious and precious, but I keep hoping--it's for book club,
And now it's finished. The last 150 pages give a pretty fair comic pay-off, but she could have used a good editor (where are all the great ones at FS& these days?) to cut about 150 to 200 pages. The Akron touches and other attempts to set it in Ohio don't work at all--probably for a New York publisher they do since, for heaven's sakes, who would live in Akron? The very idea is funny, no? But the local color isn't very local--rather cardboard applications.
And now it's finished. The last 150 pages give a pretty fair comic pay-off, but she could have used a good editor (where are all the great ones at FS& these days?) to cut about 150 to 200 pages. The Akron touches and other attempts to set it in Ohio don't work at all--probably for a New York publisher they do since, for heaven's sakes, who would live in Akron? The very idea is funny, no? But the local color isn't very local--rather cardboard applications.
April 30, 2015
I expected to like this much better, being from Northeastern Ohio myself and being influenced by the Dave Eggers blurb on the front cover, but in reality I thought it kind of dragged and became boring under the weight of its precociousness. The characters were interesting, and the story itself drew me in, but a nonlinear, disjointed plot with multiple narrators and media of delivery (journals, news articles, etc.) has become a modern fiction cliche at this point.
August 14, 2007
This is a charming little beach read that won't exercise your brain too much. (I enjoyed it on my honeymoon.) If you're one of the many proud Akronites peopling the world of readers, you'll get a kick out of seeing your hometown portrayed on the page. Several of the characters weren't quite interesting enough, but Fergus was a hoot, if a little cartoonish.
February 17, 2008
Creepy, with unlikeable characters, yet a compelling and absorbing story.
December 22, 2008
Terrible book. I couldn't finish it, and the hometown in-jokes weren't even enough to make me keep going.
March 2, 2009
booooooooooooo
October 18, 2011
0 stars
January 13, 2013
It just went downhill with the blink of an eye. My expectations were Mt. Everest high. Tskkkkk...Im seriously disappointed. Rereading it after a few years will pass. :/
October 10, 2017
Histoire d’excentriques du midwest américain
June 30, 2016
It had such potential to be clever, but ultimately a bit of a snooze
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews