Book Review: The Coast Road by Alan Murrin

 

Rating: 4.5⭐

Set in the mid-1990s, in the small Irish town of Ardglas, County Donegal, The Coast Road by Alan Murrin tells the story of three women navigating troubled marriages in an era before divorce was legalized.

Colette Crowley, a published poet, has returned from Dublin after a failed love affair. Married with three children, she is separated from her husband Shaun, whom she left after falling in love with another man. She is eager to reconnect with her children, but her husband is not allowing her to do so. With no income and no place to live, she rents a cottage near the coast, from Donal and Dolores Mullen. Dolores has three children and is expecting her fourth. Her husband is mostly critical of her and does not extend her much kindness. Despite being aware of her husband’s infidelity, she has no option but to turn a blind eye to his affairs. Colette also starts writing classes where she strikes up a friendship with Izzy Keaveney, the wife of a local politician. Izzy, a mother of two and married for over two decades, is trapped in an unfulfilling marriage with a husband who gives no importance to her aspirations. Her only friend is Father Brian Dempsey, the parish priest who lends a sympathetic ear to her troubles.

The narrative follows these three women as their lives intersect and they are left to grapple with the consequences of the choices they make.

The vivid coastal setting, the lyrical yet restrained prose and the well-thought-out characters render this novel an engaging and thought-provoking read.

What primarily drew me to this novel was the premise. The author writes beautifully, creating a strong sense of time and place. Set in the years preceding the 1995 referendum, the author establishes the premise strongly, with an unflinching look into the different aspects of marriage viewed through the lens of our characters – communication, respect, intimacy, honesty, trust, fidelity, and motherhood- and the restrictive societal norms that contributed to the stifling conditions of women with no recourse to break away from toxic relationships.

The narrative is shared from multiple perspectives and is relatively slower-paced, which suits the nature of the story and allows us to explore the characters and their innermost thoughts and motivations. The main characters - complex and flawed – are portrayed as strong and resilient in their own way but also vulnerable, which struck me as realistic. I also appreciated the author’s depiction of small-town dynamics and how the same contributed to the trajectories of the lives of our characters. Needless to say, with the exception of Father Dempsey, none of the male characters are particularly likable, but given the subject matter, this was to be expected. I particularly liked the interactions in Colette’s writing class and wished we had more of those. This is a quiet novel, with minimal melodrama, even in its most shocking moments. The ending left me with a heavy heart and much to reflect upon.

Overall, I thought this to be a praiseworthy debut that I would not hesitate to recommend to those who enjoy character-driven fiction.

I look forward to reading more from this talented new author.

Many thanks to HarperVia for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.