“A onda, kad bi čuli da je Donal završio na policijskom ispitivanju, svi bi govorili: Što je radila gore sama dok joj je obitelj samo nekoliko kilometara dalje, i pila sama u svakom pubu u gradu? Kao da bi, da se samo pristojnije ponašala i ostala kod kuće, još bila živa. A vi tamo”, pokazala je na detektiva, „s tom svojom malom bilježnicom, zapisujete svaki put kad se napila, kao da je to zločin, kao da je to najgori mogući grijeh – žena koja pije sama u pubu.“

Radnja prati tri žene zarobljene u nesretnim brakovima koje u malenom irskom obalnom gradu pokušavaju pronaći sebe u društvu punom ograničenja.

Obožavam romane smještene u Irskoj, tu surovu stvarnost života i svakodnevice. Mračni su, pomalo depresivni, ali istovremeno toliko životni i iskreni.

I Obalni put je upravo takav roman. Ispunio je sva moja očekivanja, dao mi sve što sam tražila, a ponekad i više. Istina, tempo je nešto sporiji nego što inače preferiram, ali likovi, emocije i atmosfera potpuno su me osvojili. Upravo onakvi kakve sam i priželjkivala.

Ženski likovi su snažni i slojeviti, puni mana, ali i vrlina. U jednom trenutku suosjećate s njima, u drugom biste ih najradije prodrmali od frustracije zbog njihovih odluka. I onda se sjetite gdje ste. Irska, 1995. godina.

Ovo je roman o braku i odnosima unutar njega. O nevjerojatnoj konzervativnosti irskog društva kada je riječ o razvodu. Iskreno, nisam ni znala da je razvod u Irskoj bio ilegalan sve do 1995. godine. To je podatak koji bih bez razmišljanja pripisala nekim drugim kulturama, ne Europi. Još me više iznenadilo kada sam usporedila situaciju s ostatkom Europe. Francuska ga je legalizirala još 1792., Velika Britanija 1857., Italija 1970., a Hrvatska 1946. godine.

I iako je danas razvod u Irskoj legalan, imam osjećaj da su posljedice takvih konzervativnih stavova i dalje prisutne. Uzmemo li u obzir da Irska i dalje ima jednu od najnižih stopa razvoda u Europi, mnoge odluke likova u romanu postaju jasnije. Ponekad je izlazak iz društvenih okvira jednostavno prevelik korak.

Sve u svemu, izrazito dobar debitantski roman koji će posebno cijeniti ljubitelji priča usmjerenih na likove.

Puno hvala izdavaču!

[english]

“but I don’t think you have to be married to be a good Catholic. However, it is one of the seven sacraments, and . . . well, I think if you bother to go through with it, you should try and stick with it.’ ‘And if it’s too easy to get out of, who’d bother trying?’ she said. ‘In my day the worst thing you could imagine was being unmarried – you just went with the first fellow who asked you.”

The Coast Road – Alan Murrin

The plot follows three women trapped in unhappy marriages who, in a small Irish coastal town, are trying to find their freedom in a society full of restrictions.

I love novels set in Ireland, that harsh reality of everyday life. They are dark, a bit depressing, but at the same time so real and honest.

And The Coast Road is exactly that kind of novel. It met all my expectations, gave me everything I was looking for, and sometimes a bit more. Honestly, the pace is a bit slower than I usually prefer, but the characters, emotions and atmosphere completely won me over. Exactly what I was looking for.

The female characters are strong and layered, full of flaws, but also virtues. At one moment you sympathize with them, at another you want to shake them in frustration because of their decisions. And then you remember where you are. Ireland, 1995.

This is a novel about marriage and the relationships within it. About the incredible conservatism of Irish society when it comes to divorce. Honestly, I didn’t even know that divorce was illegal in Ireland until 1995. It’s something I would have attributed to other cultures without a second thought, not Europe. I was even more surprised when I compared the situation to the rest of Europe. France legalized it in 1792, Great Britain in 1857, Italy in 1970, and Croatia in 1946.

And although divorce is legal in Ireland today, I feel that the consequences of such conservative attitudes are still present. When we consider that Ireland still has one of the lowest divorce rates in Europe, many of the decisions made by the characters in the novel become clearer. Sometimes, stepping outside the social norms is simply too much of a step.

All in all, an extremely good debut that fans of character-driven stories will especially appreciate.

Thanks to the publisher!