Coasting: A Private Voyage [Paperback]

Jonathan Raban (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 4, 2003

Put Jonathan Raban on a boat and the results will be fascinating, and never more so than when he’s sailing around the serpentine, 2,000-mile coast of his native England. In this acutely perceived and beautifully written book, the bestselling author of Bad Land turns that voyage–which coincided with the Falklands war of 1982-into an occasion for meditations on his country, his childhood, and the elusive notion of home.

Whether he’s chatting with bored tax exiles on the Isle of Man, wrestling down a mainsail during a titanic gale, or crashing a Scottish house party where the kilted guests turn out to be Americans, Raban is alert to the slightest nuance of meaning. One can read Coasting for his precise naturalistic descriptions or his mordant comments on the new England, where the principal industry seems to be the marketing of Englishness. But one always reads it with pleasure.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A lively, intensely personal recounting of a voyage into a gifted writer's country and self.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Coasting is a glorious book, written with energy, wit and a melancholy lyricism . . . There's something wonderful on every page of this book.” —The Seattle Times Post-Intelligencer

“Marvelously written and superbly constructed. . . . The sort of book you put among those favorite books you keep on your desk or table . . . the sort you wish you had written yourself.” — Beryl Bainbridge, The Spectator

“Raban is . . . one of our most gifted observers.” —Newsday

From the Publisher

8 1.5-hour cassettes --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (February 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375725938
• ISBN-13: 978-0375725937
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,043,640 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An early memoir by one of our best contemporary writers, April 17, 2004

By 

R. Stout (The Evergreen State) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Coasting: A Private Voyage (Paperback)

Hearing Raban read an excerpt from this book at Seattle's Folklife Festival last year, I "took the bait". At nearby bookstore, I bought copy, read it on the plane-ride back home, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
For years I've been hooked (sorry) on Raban's books, such as "Old Glory", "Bad Land", and "Voyage to Juneau". "Coasting", is apparently a recently-published version of an early work by the author.
It is a memoir of a literal voyage, of a more personal introspective voyage, and of a voyage in the turbulent political waters of M. Thatcher's Britain.
It would be a shame for readers to pass on "Coasting" due to an unfavorable review, apparently based primarily on political differences with the author. I urge readers - and indeed the negative reviewer - to read (re-read?) the chapter, toward the end of the book, regarding Philip Larkin. This recollection of an evening spent with Larkin, apparently one of Raban's mentors, is written with such heartfelt fondness and melancholy that it sincerely moved this reader. It was this excerpt from "Coasting" that charmed a rapt audience at the reading in Seattle. Based on this section, alone, I would recommend this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read - for an 80's anglophile...., December 8, 2005

By 

Andrew C. Kirby (MA,USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Coasting: A Private Voyage (Paperback)

I read this when it was first published and it is probably the least American of Raban's books. It is thoughtful, incisive and pretty much spot on with how the country was split during the Falklands conflict and for me it gives a wonderful, if now a little dated insight into my own country and people, I love Raban's eclectic style of collecting up a whole series of people, books and charts and then introducing them to the reader as 'characters' along the way. Probably also the most autobiographical of books to date by this author but then I was in England at the time and British to boot.

Andy

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Bit Grim, but a well written and readable book, June 26, 2006

By 

Joseph Harris (Brookfield, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Coasting: A Private Voyage (Paperback)

I like Jonathan Raban for his willingness to wander places in small boats. First I read his book about going down the Mississippi in a large rowboat, Old Glory, and now coasting. Both are a bit bleak due to the author's general unhappiness. Raban is an unhappy guy plain and simple but he does have an ability to find and describe wonderful places and characters. The reader just has to look past Raban's negative outlook on everything, I really mean everything. I thought he only hated the United States but he really hates his home, England. But all considered he is quite readable.