Coastliners

from Joanne Harris, the bestselling author of Chocolat, comes a heartfelt, lyrical and life-affirming novel of courage and conviction

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Summary

From the pen of international multi-million copy seller Joanne Harris, Coastliners is a powerful novel of a hardy island community fighting the encroaching seas. Written with her characteristic vivid descriptions, expert characterisation and sensuous language, this is a real treat for fans of Victoria Hislop, Fiona Valpy, Maggie O'Farrell and Rachel Joyce.

'A winning blend of fairy-tale morality and gritty realism' -- INDEPENDENT
'Sensuous, evocative...you can almost feel the sand between your toes and taste the salty air' -- HEAT
'I was hooked by page 2. Brilliantly written' -- ***** Reader review
'This book kept me gripped from start to finish' -- ***** Reader review
'Page turner to the last page' -- ***** Reader review

*****
On the tiny Breton island of Le Devin, life has remained almost unchanged for over a hundred years. For generations, two rival communities have fought for control of the island's only beach.

When Mado returns home to her village after a ten-year absence, she finds it threatened, both by the tides and by a local entrepreneur. Worse, the community is suffering from an incurable loss of hope. Taking up the fight to transform the dying village, Mado must confront past tragedies, including the terrible secret that still haunts her father.

Reviews

Everything about her style is aerodynamic ... Harris writes well, and charming, cinema-friendly images and cinematic mysteries abound ... stylish and economical
Sunday Times

About the author

Joanne Harris

Joanne Harris is the internationally renowned and award-winning author of over twenty novels. Her Whitbread-shortlisted novel Chocolat was adapted to the screen, starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. She is the author of several other bestsellers, including The Lollipop Shoes, Peaches for Monsieur Le Curé and The Strawberry Thief. She has also written acclaimed novels in such diverse genres as fantasy based on Norse myth (Runemarks, Runelight, The Gospel of Loki), and the Malbry cycle of dark psychological thrillers (Gentlemen & Players, Blueeyedboy, and Different Class).

Born in Barnsley, of an English father and a French mother, she spent fifteen years as a teacher before (somewhat reluctantly) becoming a full-time writer. In 2013, she was awarded an MBE, and in 2022 an OBE. She lives in Yorkshire, plays bass and flute in a band first formed when she was sixteen, and works in a shed in her garden. She is an honorary Fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and served for four years as Chair of the Society of Authors. She also has a form of synaesthesia which enables her to smell colours. Red, she says, smells of chocolate.

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