Coast Road: A Novel (Paperback)

by Barbara Delinsky (Author) "WHEN JACK MCGILL'S phone rang at two in the morning, the sound cut sharply into the muted world of a soupy San Francisco night..." (more)
Key Phrases: barbara delinsky, Big Sur, San Francisco, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
In the famed romantic tradition that only Barbara Delinsky can deliver, you'll meet emotion-packed characters who make you forget whatever it was you were doing before you picked up Coast Road. In this story, workaholic Jack McGill is brought to his knees when he learns that his ex-wife Rachel is in a coma after a car accident. When he rushes to her side to be a dutiful father to his children, he is met with abrasive verbal abuse not only from his children, but also from Rachel's best friends.

By the time the doctors tell him they don't know how long Rachel will be in the coma, Jack has reacquainted himself with his children, and fond memories have surfaced of his ex-wife and her creative artistic talent. Through Rachel's best friend, Katherine, Jack learns about a secret Rachel had hidden from him during the days they were married. The secret, revealed through artwork, is one of the many factors that thrust Jack into "introspection mode." He reevaluates his life, digging deep into his heart's desires, and decides to quit his job and stay at Rachel's side, even if she never wakes up.

Coast Road deals with some very difficult subjects, such as miscarriage, divorce, traveling husbands, breast cancer, and the ramifications of living in a coma. However, once you get past the research exposition and the bantering, you'll laugh and cry (a lot) at what this once-separated family goes through. Delinsky paints vivid pictures of Rachel, who remains in a coma for about 99 percent of the book, but you'll see that it sometimes takes a life-threatening accident to rekindle the fires of love. --Candy Paape --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Set in Big Sur, Calif., Delinsky's latest contemporary romance (after Three Wishes) sings the praises of family and friendship. Rachel Keats, outdoorsy artist, mother of two and ex-wife of architect Jack McGill, is in a coma after a car crash on her way to a book-club meeting. When Jack hears the news in a late-night phone call from Rachel's best friend, flinty Katherine Evans, he puts aside pressing business obligations in San Francisco and rushes to her side. Rachel shows no sign of waking up soon, so Jack moves into her house to take care of their daughters, 15-year-old Samantha and 13-year-old Hope. Meanwhile, Jack keeps slipping into flashback memories of his life with Rachel but can't seem to figure out why she left him six years earlier. Luckily, Katherine is there to give him the answers: Jack is selfish, uncommunicative and materialistic. As Jack gets to know Rachel's life, her friends and the family she has made, he realizes Katherine is right and resolves to show Rachel he's changedAif only she'll wake up. Sexual stereotypes fuel this predictable saga, and the wait for Rachel's recovery can't sustain tension in the plot. Samantha's wild teenaged antics and the early, prickly stages of a romance between Katherine and Rachel's neurologist lend the only doses of excitement to a story that's stretched far too thin.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 447 pages
• Publisher: Pocket; Later Printing edition (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671027662
• ISBN-13: 978-0671027667
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #417,319 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is a terrific read, but not Ms. Delinsky's best., January 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Coast Road: A Novel (Hardcover)

The story is wonderful, and the way it's presented is both unique and interesting. Ms. Delinsky has a writing style and a way of exploring contemporary women's issues that few other authors can match. If you haven't read this book, by all means do so. It will probably make you smile and definitely make you cry.

Having said that, I found Jack to be a much more sympathetic character than Rachel. Yes, he has flaws. And, yes, he carries much of the weight of responsibility for the loss of their marriage. Much...but not all.

I didn't feel that Rachel ever owned up to her own contribution to their divorce. After all, she walked out on Jack. Without explanation. She took his daughters and went someplace where she could be more creative. But never - not once - did she tell him why she was leaving or what he was doing wrong. She expected him to read her mind in several situations - to anticipate needs she never expressed - and when he couldn't, she punished him. Jack had to discover Rachel's feelings secondhand and I think that was an injustice.

That was the weakest link in this book. The relationships between Jack and his daughters and Jack and Rachel's friends are developed beautifully (and, incidentally, comprise much of the book). Likewise, Jack's path of discovery and growth is believable and heartwrenching.

Jack's character alone makes this book worth reading.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finding your way back to what's really important..., September 4, 1999

By A Customer

An ex-husband is forced to become primary care-giver to his 2 daughters while his ex-wife lies in a coma. In the process he discovers his life isn't what he wants and finds what he wants.

I enjoyed the book written from the guy's perspective. All the friends of the ex-wife were interesting and I wished I could have learned more about them. This is the 2nd Delinsky book I've read and they were both enjoyable reads.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where the road takes you..., June 8, 2000

By	Rhogary (Indiana) - See all my reviews

Coast Road is one of Barbara Delinsky's best, although it took me some time to realize it. I read the back cover many times before I decided to read it, based solely on the fact one of the two main characters was in a coma for much of the story. I was never a fan of flashbacks, but Coast Road is a unique book.

Divorced for 6 years, Rachel Keats and Jack McGill followed different paths that ultimately would lead them to the same place...to a roller coaster ride of emotions that were solely Jack's. In the middle of the night, Jack is awakened by a phone call informing him that the mother of his two daughters is in a coma following a car accident. He rushes to be with his daughters, but as they struggle with the idea of life without Rachel, Jack realizes he still loves his former wife. The format of the story is filled with vivid memories--(I don't want to call them flashbacks)--and present day pains: the understanding that love is a fleeting thing that you must catch it while you can.