Coastliners
by Joanne Harris
Read by Julia Franklin
Running time 12hrs 30mins
Soundings
One advantage of the well-abridged audiobook is that the ramblings of a self-indulgent author can be edited. Unfortunately, this version of Coastliners is unabridged. Madeleine Prasteau (Mado) arrives on the tiny Breton island of Le Devin where she spent her childhood. Her father, Grosjean, still lives there and is suffering from an ailment made worse when he sees his estranged daughter, causing him accidentally to drop the statue of the island's patron saint into the sea and guaranteeing bad luck for 30 years.
Le Devin, although minuscule, is split into two camps - La Houssiniere, which is prosperous, and La Salants, which is not. It does not take long to work out that Mado's return will be the saving of the poverty-stricken Salantais. The character clichés are all there - Cappucine, the tart with a heart, Brismand, the wealthy but evil entrepreneur and Flynn, the mysterious outsider who has been adopted by the natives and harbours a secret that only Mado can unlock.
It is a weak and ridiculous story that is made worse in audio form. Julia Franklin reads the French words with a cringeingly enthusiastic accent. The rest of the characters blur into indistinguishable male and female pastiches. Without wanting to be cruel, Franklin's reading of Flynn, the Irishman, is an insult to the Gaelic race. The production is rough, the atmosphere lacking. The one redeeming feature is the cover, which is sadly misleading.
