Overview

‘A perfect book club read ... Assured and powerful’ SUNDAY TIMES ‘A compelling, compassionate page-turner’ OBSERVER ‘I loved this novel ... An addictive read’ GILLIAN ANDERSON ‘Moves between rage, forgiveness and hope ... A stonkingly good novel’ SARAH WINMAN ‘A beautiful, accomplished debut’ LOUISE KENNEDY 'Impressive' TLS It’s 1994 in County Donegal, Ireland, and everyone is talking about Colette Crowley – the writer, the bohemian, the woman who left her husband and sons to pursue a relationship with a married man in Dublin. But now Colette is back, and nobody knows why. Returning to the community to try and reclaim her old life, Colette quickly learns that they are unwilling to give it back to her. The man to whom she is still married is denying her access to her children, and while the legalisation of divorce might be just around the corner, Colette finds herself caught between her old life and the freedom for which she risked everything. Desperate to see her children, she enlists the help of Izzy, a housewife and mother of two, and the women forge a friendship that will send them on a spiralling journey – one toward a path of self-discovery, and the other toward tragedy. Brilliantly observed from a sharp new literary talent, The Coast Road is a novel about a closed community and the consequences of daring to move against the tide.

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9781526663696

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Reviews

Alan Murrin writes with the calm, poetic fluency of the best of Irish writers. The Coast Road is set in Donegal the year before divorce became legal in Ireland, and the many themes are equally – sadly – as relevant now. Women’s autonomy is beautifully scrutinised in a shifting tempo that moves between rage, forgiveness and hope. It’s a stonkingly good novel. Just read it -- Sarah Winman, bestselling author of STILL LIFE It will no doubt be a bestseller -- Gillian Anderson, GRAZIA This beautifully atmospheric novel is a dark, unsettling warning about how easily narrow attitudes can turn into dangerous ones. An eerie, urgent debut from an exciting new voice -- Neil Blackmore, author of RADICAL LOVE Psychologically rich, emotionally resonant, and powered by a vivid cast of characters, The Coast Road explores the intimacies that bind individuals and communities together – for better and for worse. This is an incredibly satisfying novel, told with great tenderness and tremendous storytelling verve. A book to be savoured -- Colin Walsh, author of KALA Propelled by a gripping narrative and powerfully drawn characters The Coast Road makes for compulsive reading. Alan Murrin has written a poignant, utterly truthful story of passions prejudice and tragedy in a small town. Brilliant -- Gabriel Byrne, prizewinning actor and author of WALKING WITH GHOSTS An exceptional debut about marriage and freedom, about love and the ways it can heal and hurt us. A must read for 2024 -- Sarah Crossan, author of HERE IS THE BEEHIVE

Alan Murrin writes with the calm, poetic fluency of the best of Irish writers. The Coast Road is set in Donegal the year before divorce became legal in Ireland, and the many themes are equally – sadly – as relevant now. Women’s autonomy is beautifully scrutinised in a shifting tempo that moves between rage, forgiveness and hope. It’s a stonkingly good novel. Just read it -- Sarah Winman, bestselling author of STILL LIFE It will no doubt be a bestseller -- Gillian Anderson, GRAZIA

Alan Murrin writes with the calm, poetic fluency of the best of Irish writers. The Coast Road is set in Donegal the year before divorce became legal in Ireland, and the many themes are equally – sadly – as relevant now. Women’s autonomy is beautifully scrutinised in a shifting tempo that moves between rage, forgiveness and hope. It’s a stonkingly good novel. Just read it -- Sarah Winman, bestselling author of STILL LIFE

Cheating husbands and wayward wives in a tiny coastal town, set during a time when divorce in Ireland was illegal, Alan Murrin’s The Coast Road had me at hello. The writing is spare and elegant, the setting atmospheric — indeed, Murrin’s Ardglas is a character in its own right. An assured, gripping debut from an author I hope to read more of -- Jamie Quatro, author of FIRE SERMON I loved this novel. All the female characters are complex and fascinating, and full of anger and hope. I found it an addictive read -- Gillian Anderson Cheating husbands and wayward wives in a tiny coastal town, set during a time when divorce in Ireland was illegal, Alan Murrin’s The Coast Road had me at hello. The writing is spare and elegant, the setting atmospheric — indeed, Murrin’s Ardglas is a character in its own right. An assured, gripping debut from an author I hope to read more of -- Jamie Quatro, author of FIRE SERMON Alan Murrin is a gifted storyteller, his characters so fully realised I fretted for them as I read. A beautiful, accomplished debut -- Louise Kennedy, author of TRESPASSES Psychologically rich, emotionally resonant, and powered by a vivid cast of characters, The Coast Road explores the intimacies that bind individuals and communities together – for better and for worse. This is an incredibly satisfying novel, told with great tenderness and tremendous storytelling verve. A book to be savoured -- Colin Walsh, author of KALA Alan Murrin writes with the calm, poetic fluency of the best of Irish writers. The Coast Road is set in Donegal the year before divorce became legal in Ireland, and the many themes are equally – sadly – as relevant now. Women’s autonomy is beautifully scrutinised in a shifting tempo that moves between rage, forgiveness and hope. It’s a stonkingly good novel. Just read it -- Sarah Winman, bestselling author of STILL LIFE This beautifully atmospheric novel is a dark, unsettling warning about how easily narrow attitudes can turn into dangerous ones. An eerie, urgent debut from an exciting new voice -- Neil Blackmore, author of RADICAL LOVE Propelled by a gripping narrative and powerfully drawn characters The Coast Road makes for compulsive reading. Alan Murrin has written a poignant, utterly truthful story of passions prejudice and tragedy in a small town. Brilliant -- Gabriel Byrne, prizewinning actor and author of WALKING WITH GHOSTS An exceptional debut about marriage and freedom, about love and the ways it can heal and hurt us. A must read for 2024 -- Sarah Crossan, author of HERE IS THE BEEHIVE

Author Information

Alan Murrin is an Irish fiction writer based in Berlin. In 2021 he was the winner of the Bournemouth Writing Prize for his short story “The Wake”, which went on to be shortlisted for short story of the year at the Irish Book Awards. He is the recipient of an Irish Arts Council Agility Award and an Arts Council Literature Bursary. He is a graduate of the prose fiction masters at the University of East Anglia. His work was featured as part of the New Irish Writing series in the Irish Independent. His work has been short-listed for the Irish Arts and Writers Festival short story prize, the New Irish Writing in Germany Prize, and he was long-listed for the 2021 University of Essex International short story prize. He writes for the Irish Times, Times Literary Supplement and Spectator. His writing on art and photography has appeared in Art Review and The White Review.

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