"The Coast Road" by Alan Murrin is a beautifully crafted novel that captures the essence of a journey—both physical and emotional. Set against the stunning backdrop of a coastal landscape, the story follows a protagonist grappling with personal loss and the search for meaning.

Murrin’s writing is lyrical and evocative, bringing the scenery to life while also delving deep into the inner workings of his characters' minds. The narrative flows effortlessly, with a perfect blend of reflective moments and engaging dialogue that keeps readers invested in the journey.

Themes of grief, healing, and the passage of time resonate throughout the book. The coastal setting serves as a metaphor for change and the unpredictable nature of life, mirroring the protagonist's evolving sense of self. Murrin’s exploration of relationships—both past and present—adds depth and complexity, inviting readers to reflect on their own connections.

Overall, "The Coast Road" is a poignant and thoughtful read that combines beautiful prose with a meaningful exploration of life's challenges. Murrin's ability to evoke emotion through vivid imagery and relatable characters makes this novel a worthwhile addition to contemporary literary fiction. It's a book that lingers in the mind long after the journey ends.

I say this a lot, but Irish fiction is on fire right now, and The Coast Road is no exception, so it is hard to believe it is a debut.

Our story takes place in the small community of Ardglas, Donegal, in 1994/1995, though often you’d be hard-pressed not to think it’s decades earlier.

We’re just prior to Ireland’s second divorce referendum, which resulted in the legalisation of divorce. However, the margins were incredibly close (50.28% to 49.72%), which is a testament to the fact that the Catholic Church was still a hugely powerful influence and the parish priest a key figure in the community—a community where respectability and keeping up appearance were paramount above all else.

Back to our Ardglas congregation, there’s all class of sinning, as intense as any soap opera. Thanks to Murrin’s pitch-perfect, immersive writing, the momentum builds supremely as our novel progresses.

Upsetting the apple cart is the return of the scarlet woman herself, 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 viewed mostly with curiosity, sometimes outright coldness.

Colette is desperate to see her children, but her husband is throwing obstacle after obstacle in her way. Almost penniless and reliant on handouts from himself, she moves into a ramshackle cottage owned by Dolores and her husband, the prolific philanderer and manipulative abuser Donal.

Her closest ally is the feisty Izzy, who is dissatisfied with her marriage to a local politician who seems to feel Izzy isn’t capable of anything more than making his dinner and should be happy with her lot in life.

But Izzy and Colette have a friendship forged; just how far will they go to obtain their goals?

The Coast Road is a captivating novel about a closed community and the consequences of daring to move against the tide, which I inhaled. Highly recommended reading! 5⭐

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. As always, this is an honest review.

This novel had a great Thelma and Louise style camaraderie, infused with a lightness of touch and a great wit, it feels quietly profound in its views on friendship, love and how to live,

The Coast Road by Alan Murrin is an intense story of how difficult life in a small town in rural Ireland before divorce was available could be for women who find themselves in difficult situations.
A small town in Donegal is the setting for this riveting narrative documenting the different lives of the woman of the village. The local politician lives with his wife serving the community that he represents. A separated woman rents a Summer cottage from a local couple so she can be close to her children.

Murrin has written a powerful novel that is superbly written and highly entertaining.

I found this book difficult but interesting. Set in Ireland, the main characters are hard to like but they are deeply human. A woman in Ireland who left her husband and therefore loses contact with her children, men for whom what people think of them is all, men who make the lives of the women in their lives difficult. My younger self would have scorned at Colette and Dolores but my older - hopefully gentler - self can see how they ended up where they were. I did love the relationship between Izzy and Brian and would have loved for that relationship to have been explored further.

Izzy is asked to help facilitate meetings between Colette and her son, while Izzy's own son is also damaged somewhat by his parents' relationship. Izzy definitely feels trapped by her life and her place in society, a society that loves to gossip and keep women in their place.

A gentle thoughtful book that remains in your mind long after you've finished it.

A slow burn book filled with hard hitting plots which kept me intrigued throughout. I really enjoyed the writing in this book and look forward to reading more from this author.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

I was drawn to this book by its cover but stayed with it due to the beautifully drawn characters.

Is it possible for a book to be both quiet and hard-hitting at the same time? It must be, as this book is exactly that.

I’ll definitely read more by this author.

A beautifully told story of women in 20th century Ireland. Hard to believe that this book was written by a man so accurately he describes the world from a female perspective. The characters rang true and although not an easy read it was a satisfying one.

Alan Murrin takes a community in Donegal in 1994/1995, just prior to Ireland’s seminal divorce referendum when divorce was legalised for the first time, and helps you understand just why that referendum was passed by the *narrowest* of margins (50.28% to 49.72%).

Ireland was still firmly in the grip of the Catholic Church, with the parish priest a ubiquitous figure, no end to the curtain twitching in communities and domestic abuse rampant behind closed doors with women (and men too) powerless to leave unhappy marriages. Respectability and appearance counted for everything.

Colette has recently separated from her husband Shaun, having left him for another relationship that didn’t work out. She’s back in town and attempting to see her children, living alone and penniless in a ramshackle cottage. Dolores and Donal own the cottage rented to Colette, and Dolores’ mistrust of her philandering husband is futile in the face of the prevailing times and her multiple small children. Izzy and her husband James, a local politician, have a rocky marriage that might not survive her burgeoning friendship with the parish priest and with Colette, the scarlet woman.

Perfectly paced and brilliantly portraying the social mores of the time in a rural community (think Valley of the Squinting Windows), the three women’s lives collide in dramatic fashion over the course of the book, reaching a crescendo that is impossible to put down. Terrific writing with tension and poignancy and pathos in spades, but more than that, The Coast Road is a just really good story. Highly recommend. 4.5-5/5⭐️

Many thanks to @Bloomsburypublishing for the arc via @netgalley. As always this is an honest review. The Coast Road is available now.

I received an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley, Bloomsbury Publishing, and the author Alan Murrin.
A fairly interesting story with a solid denouement, but I found the substance of the book to be mundane and slow. Difficult to get into, not for me. A generous 3 stars.

I should have loved this book as the description is everything I usually enjoy but it never got me interested. Right from the early chapters I failed to get all the characters sorted in my mind which I think started my disappointment.

A profound read about life In Ireland, in 1994 Set just before the referendum on whether divorce should be introduced to Ireland, we find a small village of ordinary Irish families struggling with their daily lives, their loves, their families, their infidelities, and the loss of their old lifestyle and beliefs as they see what is going on around them.


A story of women and their struggles, of community, friendship and mistrust. Themes of power, abuse of power, gossip and human fallibility run through this book on several levels.

This is a gentle, beautifully written story which explores the humanity in relationships, both marital, familial and friendly. The material would seem to be heavy in it’ content yet the writing is light and enjoyable. We really feel for these women in this community.

I highly recommend this book.
Thanks to #NetGalley For the opportunity to read this book, I had a publication and exchange for an honest review

The Coast Road by Alan Murrin

In 1990s Donegal, Ireland, three women struggle with relationship challenges against the backdrop of the campaign for the legalisation of divorce. Collette has returned from Dublin and her estranged husband Shaun won't let her see their three sons; Izzy is unhappy in her marriage to James and finds friendship with the new priest Brian; and Dolores is pregnant with her fourth child but her husband Donal is abusive and a serial cheat. The intertwining of their lives is a catalyst for change and has unintended consequences.

I loved everything about this book - setting, characters, story - and read it in one sitting. Alan Murrin has a real talent for evoking place and the claustrophobia of small-town living was really well done. His characters were also larger than life - the whole book played out like a film in my head. The Coast Road is its own story but if I had to draw comparisons it brought Donal Ryan's books to mind. Can't wait to read whatever Alan Murrin writes next. Very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

A fantastic book set in a small minded village in Donegal in the 1990’s when divorce was not yet legalised and men have the upper hand when it comes to families.
A small village mentality, a place where everyone thinks they know your business.
A book full of different characters, many flawed but none totally unlikeable. A book about human mistakes, unhappy relationships and living life regardless.
A great debut.

Excellent debut from Alan Murrin, focused on three women and their families in county Donegal in the run up to the vote on divorce in Ireland. I was thoroughly drawn in to the relationships, the pervasive sense of control from church and state, and the inevitability of a crisis coming down the path. Well rounded characters are flawed yet sympathetic, making poor but understandable decisions, and I found myself absorbed, rattling through the last two thirds of the book in one sitting. Look forward to seeing more from Murrin.

An interesting read set in the 1990s in Ireland before divorce was legalised. Messy stories of troubled marriages and the different decisions and challenges faced by the women involved.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

A fantastic book set in Donegal- following three women and their stories in the run up to the referendum on divorce in the 90s. Trapped in unhappy marriages, this book is full of funny moments amongst the love and heartbreak and friendship.

Brilliantly written, this is a story of small town Ireland and small minded Ireland. An Ireland captured pre Good Friday Agreement, though at a time of a fragile cease-fire, and in the run up to the divorce referendum. An Ireland where what people think of you is more important than your happiness and dignity.
And then there is Colette. A step apart, a free spirit, one who was prepared to break from the norm to follow her dreams which ultimately become her self destructive nightmares
Character and prose driven this is a gem of a read

Finished!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ this book has blown me away the writing, those sentences and words I’m just 🤯🤯🤯🤯 a harsh look at a community, wives, husbands, children, doing the best for them, punishment, gossip & the roaring sea looking on

This was a well written, absorbing novel about three women in Ireland at around the time of the referendum on Divorce. I loved it and looked forward to reading it every moment I could. Heartbreakingly sad for the women trapped in abusive or simply no longer loving and respectful marriages and the children who also suffered as a result. I hadn't remembered how shocking it was to get divorced in the RC world but this brought it home to me. Saying more would give the plot away.

I loved the details about the women and the way each was described. I hope to read more from this author.