Rating: 
Summary: To read or to listen, that is the question
Review: This review is of the cassette version, performed by Vivien Benesch; the unabridged version that includes an interview with the author (which I skipped because I ran out of time). It's a Harper Audio.The only time I usually listen to books on tape is when I'm driving long distances. I tend to stop by a Cracker Barrel and rent something that fits my mood at the time. That's how I came to listen to this book. I chose "Coastliners" without recognizing the author as the person who write "Chocolat" (which I read and loved) and without having heard of the book. It looked long and I was going to drive a long time........... When Mado returns to the village of her childhood after the death of her mother, she finds nothing but decay and a somnolent citizenry. Her father, who has always been noncommunicative to the max, is even more withdrawn and secretive than before she left to live in Paris with her mother, who has recently died. Mado is convinced that he loves her sister more than she and becomes more and more convinced each time her sister appears on the scene. Meanwhile, the energetic Mado discovers a way to bring touristry and profit to the island while losing her heart to Flynn, a mysterious stranger. The reader, Ms. Benesch, does a capable job but I found her pronounciation of French names and phrases to be terribly distracting and at times even confusing. I am familiar with French and I think that if I was confused, someone who has no knowledge of the language would get terribly lost. The story, though, is riveting and the characters, if somewhat predictable, are fascinating. I think I'd have enjoyed this much more if I had read it instead of listening to it.
Rating: 
Summary: Not like the others but well worth your time
Review: Unlike some of Harris' other books (_Chocolat_, and _Five Quarters of the Orange_) this one was not as food-oriented. I loved that quality in her other books, but I was also happy with her fiction in _Coastliners_. Although this book differed from her others in plot, the setting remained the same: France. In this case, the small island of Le Devin, lying off the coast of mainland France. The island inhabitants and the island scenes themselves were so well-written and easy to imagine. The story itself was very entertaining. The main character, Mado, returns to her island home after a ten year absense. She finds that some things have changed, but much remains the same; namely the feud/rivalry between the families on the island. Mado wants to help her family and friends to build up their side of the island, but she encounters hostility and many unforeseen obstacles in the process. In _Coastliners_, Harris constructs a captivating story with interesting plot twists. I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Not a foodie book, just a straight novel
Review: We've become so accustomed to Joanne Harris's books being focused on a sensual food theme that it's hard, at first, to get used to the straightforward storytelling on Coastliners. There's also not her usual fairy, eerie, other-worldly quality to this one.
But it's a good story with a bit of a mystery woven in from the very beginning: who is Flynn, really, and what's he doing at this godforsaken end of a small island in France?
Protagonist Madeleine Prasteau leaves Paris after her mother's death and returns to Les Salants, the village of her birth, where she discovers her father monosyllabic (and that's on a good day) and fading fast - as is the entire village. Madeleine determines to take on responsibility for not just her father and his wreck of a home, but also for the entire village. She somehow pulls warring factions together to build a floating reef to help sand be redeposited on the old beach, hoping for less flooding, better fishing, and more tourists. But that's not all: there are lots of side stories, family history, undercurrents - and romance.
A really good read, tho it's a little confusing to keep all the patois French names straight at first.
Rating: 
Summary: Pointless
Review: Would you like to read a story about a sullen 20-something painter who returns to her hometown on a dreary island off the coast of France and goes around pestering the locals, a sad lot? I didn't think you would. So why would you even consider buying Coastliners? It's one of the most boring and pointless novels I have ever read. I'm not saying Joanne Harris can't write. She writes well, especially her dreamy descriptions of the natural world on this sleepy little island. But character development? Insight? Plot? Forget it. She has no concept. Harris has nothing to say, either. Unless the slogan "everything returns" has some deep meaning that escapes me. Does a racy little surprise at the end make up for all those deficiencies? I don't think so. Spare yourself.
Rating:
Summary: A compelling book with unexpected twists and turns
Review: You can almost feel the sand between your toes as you read COASTLINERS. And yet this new novel from Joanne Harris, award-winning author of CHOCOLAT, is far from a typical beach read. Set on a small French island, the story revolves around a handful of families that dictate every aspect of life there with the notable exception of the tides. And, as they soon discover, even that power may be within their reach. COASTLINERS is a potpourri of mystery, romance, and suspense. Readers follow in the footsteps of Madeleine or "Mado," a young woman who returns to her island home to a silent father and a community that is quickly slipping into the sea. An artist whose subject matter has always been the island, Mado returns to Les Salants from Paris seeking a sense of home, of family, of belonging. Once again exploring the inner-workings of community, of who fits in and why, Harris deftly imparts deep-rooted feelings of loss with those of revenge to the inhabitants of Les Salants, a town where historical feuds fester and faith in a Saint overrides a sense of independent action. Though readers may stumble on similar sounding names of an ever-expanding cast of characters, the compelling plot --- complete with unexpected twists and turns --- makes the story well worth the read. The power of charm in its seediest of contexts, the destructive effects of misdirected love, and the manipulative power of human nature work to pull at and repair the tiny island community of Les Salants. At the story's end, characters emerge with a renewed sense of direction and readers feel as though they've taken a dip into the deep end of a French island pool. Harris treats readers to descriptions of Les Salants and its residents that seem almost tangible. You can see the glittery pieces of sand as they build on the beach and taste the salt from the sea. Harris strikes gold in this new novel, which catapults readers into the disheveled lives of one family that exists on an island of its very own. Carrying the expectations of a deceased mother and the guilt of leaving her forlorn father on Les Salants, Mado struggles to strike a balance between independence and familial reconciliation. Readers of CHOCOLAT may recognize familiar themes of self-discovery and shedding veils of the past in COASTLINERS. Yet unlike the dark element to CHOCOLAT, COASTLINERS imparts a sense of possibility in its 344 pages and leaves readers with a desire to know more about the about the fate of the Salannaise. --- Reviewed by Heather Grimshaw
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