Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Poignant, uplifting, fun and hopeful.
When we meet Jarred he is in hospital, having been paralysed in an accident which killed his first love.
Jarred is estranged from his family and hasn't seen his much older brother or alcoholic father for 10 years since he ran away not long after his mother's death.
Now Jarred has no medical insurance and no choice but to go home.
As the story evolves, we watch Jarred come to terms with life in a wheelchair, and through a series of flashbacks we unwind the events which led the family to where they are today.
When we meet Jarred he is in hospital, having been paralysed in an accident which killed his first love.
Jarred is estranged from his family and hasn't seen his much older brother or alcoholic father for 10 years since he ran away not long after his mother's death.
Now Jarred has no medical insurance and no choice but to go home.
As the story evolves, we watch Jarred come to terms with life in a wheelchair, and through a series of flashbacks we unwind the events which led the family to where they are today.
A touching read about self-forgiveness. McGinnis writes with an authenticity that comes with having lived through the content of his half-memoir, half-not, while drawing attention to the moments that count. At the same time as the narrator deals with accepting his own flaws and mistakes (of which there are many), he learns to understand those of his family, and why they have behaved the way they have during his difficult childhood. These realisations mirror his transition into accepting his new disability, the ultimate reminder of his past self and how in life, you can't undo your mistakes, but you can (and have to) adapt to them.
A really refreshing read with its fair share of bittersweet/emotional moments. There's something at the heart of the book and its subject matter that ties intrinsically to the human experience - self-loathing, regret, grief, etc. - which makes its characters easy to relate to. The topic is never too grim to make The Coward a difficult read; there's enough humour and glimpses of hope to remind you the narrator ultimately finds his happy ending.
And plenty of words of wisdom too:
Over the years the stories we tell ourselves change. They have to. Who wants to live as a foil or a minor character to their own life's story? We choose the scenes and chapters to tell a story where we are the hero. It's the only way to survive the gashes, nicks and scratches life carves out of us. And yet, here we are still with knife in hand.
A really refreshing read with its fair share of bittersweet/emotional moments. There's something at the heart of the book and its subject matter that ties intrinsically to the human experience - self-loathing, regret, grief, etc. - which makes its characters easy to relate to. The topic is never too grim to make The Coward a difficult read; there's enough humour and glimpses of hope to remind you the narrator ultimately finds his happy ending.
And plenty of words of wisdom too:
Over the years the stories we tell ourselves change. They have to. Who wants to live as a foil or a minor character to their own life's story? We choose the scenes and chapters to tell a story where we are the hero. It's the only way to survive the gashes, nicks and scratches life carves out of us. And yet, here we are still with knife in hand.
An interesting blend of fiction and non-fiction. The author uses a wheelchair as does the main character and they're both called Jarred, but I don't know what's fact and what's fiction, and really it doesn't matter. In his mid-twenties Jarred is in a car accident which kills a young woman. He has no choice but to go back home to live with his father, Jack having been estranged for several years. It's about Jarred coming to terms with how his life has changed, as well as looking back on the years when his mother died and he ran away from home. There are many moving scenes between Jarred and Jack who keep trying to do the right thing, failing, and trying again. Jarred though is a difficult man, maybe justifiably - railing against how people treat and label him, when he often does the same - making assumptions about many people he meets based on what they look like.
(The real) Jarred McGinnis and I will be teaching on a week long Arvon creative writing course in Shropshire in October. More info
(The real) Jarred McGinnis and I will be teaching on a week long Arvon creative writing course in Shropshire in October. More info
I knew nothing about this book. I only started reading it because of the Irvine Welsh plaudit on the front. I thought it might be interesting. I'd worked in spinal as a student and enjoyed it. I'd seen the strength needed to accept your new self. I'd watched people struggle. I thought I knew it all.
I wasn't expecting to get so emotionally involved. I didn't expect to read the last few pages through a blur of tears.
It's not a memoir, I thought it was when I realised the protagonist was called Jarred McGinnis. But it's not the author.
The fictionalising of the author isn't new, it's been done well and badly by better and worse than McGinnis. But it's a bold move for a debut novel. I think it worked well. To paraphrase McGinnis (the author) if someone in a wheelchair writes about a guy ending up in a wheelchair everyone is going to assume it's about him. May as well jump right into it and name that protagonist after yourself. Whatever.
It's a good story, he writes well and is engaging. And it made me cry, not many books do that to me. I'd recommend it to anyone and look forward to reading more of his writing.
I wasn't expecting to get so emotionally involved. I didn't expect to read the last few pages through a blur of tears.
It's not a memoir, I thought it was when I realised the protagonist was called Jarred McGinnis. But it's not the author.
The fictionalising of the author isn't new, it's been done well and badly by better and worse than McGinnis. But it's a bold move for a debut novel. I think it worked well. To paraphrase McGinnis (the author) if someone in a wheelchair writes about a guy ending up in a wheelchair everyone is going to assume it's about him. May as well jump right into it and name that protagonist after yourself. Whatever.
It's a good story, he writes well and is engaging. And it made me cry, not many books do that to me. I'd recommend it to anyone and look forward to reading more of his writing.
challenging
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A quick read. Borrowed from Libby based on the ‘BBC Between the Covers’ list.
challenging
dark
funny
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Coward – Jarred McGinnis, it is supposed to be fiction, but the main character has the same name and many features of the book also happened. Jarred is a young man who has had a troubled few years. His mum died, he is estranged from his dad a recovering alcoholic and then he is involved in a car accident which has left him in a wheelchair. With no where else to go he calls his dad to come a pick him up from the hospital and the story is then how an angry young man and his dad can learn to live together again. There was a passage in this book that really hit home for me
‘One day I walked and the next I couldn’t. In one way, it was better than if I had had a degenerative disease with function slowly leaching away. Having constantly to readjust to a slightly worse status quo, over and over, accumulating resentment.’
In my late 20’s I found out I had an eye condition which will led to me losing my sight, in fact I had already lost a lot but hadn’t realised. In my late 30’s I was diagnosed with diabetes, first thought was more damage to my eyes, but no for me almost immediately it was my nerve endings that became hypersensitive. My feet felt like they were on fire all the time, this made walking extremely painful and uncomfortable, the more I walked the more pain I would be in especially at night. This meant I started using a mobility scooter or wheelchair before I was 40, not exactly a good look but at least it meant I still have freedom to get out and about. Would I have felt better off losing my slight suddenly and quickly, because although I have lost a of of peripheral vision to the point I am now registered blind, I still have central vision so can still read. I do read on my tablet a lot more now so I can adjust the text and background and listen to audiobooks. Having lost it so slowly and gradually I am not aware that I have lost vision until I fall or trip over something on the floor, because who knew you are supposed to see the floor when you are walking along I didn’t. As for using a mobility scooter, my legs do work I can walk short distances some days more than others.
I understand the frustration that Jarred feels not being about to do things for himself, that sitting in the car while someone else puts your wheels away in the back of the car. Being a different height when you go out and everyone else is standing up, you start to feel left out of conversations. That feeling of being in the way, trying to get people to move so you can get past, of taking up too much space.
‘One day I walked and the next I couldn’t. In one way, it was better than if I had had a degenerative disease with function slowly leaching away. Having constantly to readjust to a slightly worse status quo, over and over, accumulating resentment.’
In my late 20’s I found out I had an eye condition which will led to me losing my sight, in fact I had already lost a lot but hadn’t realised. In my late 30’s I was diagnosed with diabetes, first thought was more damage to my eyes, but no for me almost immediately it was my nerve endings that became hypersensitive. My feet felt like they were on fire all the time, this made walking extremely painful and uncomfortable, the more I walked the more pain I would be in especially at night. This meant I started using a mobility scooter or wheelchair before I was 40, not exactly a good look but at least it meant I still have freedom to get out and about. Would I have felt better off losing my slight suddenly and quickly, because although I have lost a of of peripheral vision to the point I am now registered blind, I still have central vision so can still read. I do read on my tablet a lot more now so I can adjust the text and background and listen to audiobooks. Having lost it so slowly and gradually I am not aware that I have lost vision until I fall or trip over something on the floor, because who knew you are supposed to see the floor when you are walking along I didn’t. As for using a mobility scooter, my legs do work I can walk short distances some days more than others.
I understand the frustration that Jarred feels not being about to do things for himself, that sitting in the car while someone else puts your wheels away in the back of the car. Being a different height when you go out and everyone else is standing up, you start to feel left out of conversations. That feeling of being in the way, trying to get people to move so you can get past, of taking up too much space.
A touching and funny novel about a disabled man and his father. I thought this novel was really good at pointing out the ways in which disabled people are treated by the general public and I liked seeing the relationship between Jarred and his father Jack develop.