This was a compelling and highly readable novel. I found myself thinking about it when not reading it. I could not wait to get back into it.

A very gripping, entertaining debut novel. I read this as I was confined to the sofa with a broken leg, feeling very sorry for myself. You learn all about Jarred’s past, the horrible accident that kills his love, and confined him to a wheelchair. It’s ugly, messy and beautiful. It definitely tackles some difficult subjects but it’s worth a read.

DNF'd at 52%. I was hoping for something life affirming and uplifting as per the blurbs, and perhaps that is what I would have got if I had managed to stick it out until the end, but from the first half all I got was annoyed. It was very repetitive and whiney. I listened to some of this on audio and that really didn't help with the tone of it. I did like Jack's character though which I gave an extra star for.

Thought provoking, powerful and refreshing.

After a car accident Jarred discovers that he will never walk again.

The protagonist to me was very well written and fully fleshed out. Sharing a name with the author, we experience a visceral, tender and a moving narrative that overlaps truth and fiction. At its core, this story is one that not only feels real to me but also very expertly told. With themes of redemption, alcoholism, mental illness and trauma that stems from how the world treats and views disabilities, "The Coward" is a read that I would be recommending for years to come for its honesty and courage; pushing us to look into the mirror that reflects our truths back at us in a deeply moving way.

How much of this Is fact and how much is fiction doesn't much matter. Jarred is in a wheelchair and he's angry. He's been angry for years. Now, though, he's got to rely on the father with whom he has never had a connection and it makes him even angrier. This is a thoughtful look at how one moment can change multiple lives and at reconciliation. McGinnis doesn't go easy on himself or his family. It's tough to read in spots but well written and insightful. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Happy to include this title in the April edition of Novel Encounters, my regular column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for Zoomer magazine. (at link)

This book ended up not quite being my cup of tea. I didn't finish it, but I think the writing style will work for many. Exploring disability and grief, this novel was just not what I expected it to be but I don't doubt it will move others.

Like the author, the main character in this book is also named Jarred, and both real life Jarred and character Jarred are wheelchair bound. While I’m sure there are some memoir elements within this book, from reading interviews with the author it seems he wants it to be read primarily as a work of fiction.

The difficult relationship between Jarred and his Dad Jack is one of the central points of the story. The plot touches on many difficult subjects including grief, alcoholism and mental health. There is also a lot of lightness throughout in the form of Jarred’s dark sense of humour.

In the book Jarred suddenly becomes wheelchair bound after a car accident in which his friend and ex Melissa is killed. The raw feelings and emotions following this as Jarred comes to deal with his disability are extremely powerful.

This is primarily a story of redemption and if it is possible to repair a decade of hurt. A poignant story full of raw emotion.

Well written novel regarding the relationship between father and son. A traumatic accident reunites them after a number of years apart and this new relationship allows them to explore the reasons for their separation.
Good story, well written.

Great read. It was a book filled with such an original plot and beautiful writing, my favourite part was the relationship between Jarred and his father. I loved the emotions this book puts the reader through.

I requested this book as it was recommended on the BBC's Between the Covers show.
I started it and found it difficult to get into and struggled with the protagonist's character,
I'm sorry but I couldn't empathize with him and consequently didn't complete the book.
Sorry, not for me
1 star for unusual disability content..

Well this was not a walk in the park. Hard to read in places but in other places it’s almost warm. It’s a tough read though and quite life affirming.

This is a gritty and painfully honest read with some difficult subjects covered, such as alcoholism, grief and physical disability. As you would expect this makes it quite a sombre read at times, and yet it somehow manages not to feel depressing.

I actually really liked the character of Jarred. I imagine other readers may have the complete opposite opinion but I do love a flawed character. He's frustrated and angry at the world but this isn't surprising when you consider everything he has been through. Jarred is rude, caustic and self-destructive but there's also goodness in him. He's very sarcastic and the humour can be quite dark at times, but this was something I actually enjoyed.

The exploration of the relationship between Jarred and his father, Jack, was done really well. It was damaged yet the love was still there. Like Jarred, Jack also has many faults and he was desperately seeking forgiveness. What I found hopeful was despite all that had passed between them, they both deep down still wanted to mend their broken relationship. Both characters were believable and although I was frustrated with both of them, I still rooted for a positive outcome. It perfectly highlighted how grief can manifest in different ways and that progress isn't always linear. Whether it's overcoming addiction or learning to ask for help, there may still be setbacks - the important thing is to keep moving forward.

I ultimately found it to be uplifting and hopeful which you probably wouldn't expect in a book with such difficult themes. It's a book that's full of wisdom and shows how people can change if they try hard enough. I really enjoyed it.

What a gripping debut novel! When Jarred survives an horrific car accident which kills Melissa, his first love, he finds himself suddenly confined to a wheelchair. Forced to stop running away from his past, he phones his father Jack, whom he hasn’t spoken to for 10 years. Without questions, Jack brings Jarred home. Told through flashbacks, we learn the painful cause of the estrangement of the rebellious teenager and alcoholic father. Jarred’s anger from his past fuels the frustration of his current predicament and makes a compelling story of the journey to forgiveness and redemption. The reader is also privileged to the candid insights of how society treats people who are not able bodied. Beautifully written with honesty and humour, I couldn’t put this book down.

Thank you NetGallery for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is certainly not all sunshine and rainbows, but it is well-written and, in places, funny. Interesting characters and situations kept me engaged.

I really appreciate the free ARC for reviews!!

General Impressions

"The Coward" was kindly sent to me by Canongate as part of their first Read-a-Long and other than having seen it around when it was first published and skimmed the synopsis, I knew nothing about it: I hadn't watched any booktube hauls or checked any Goodreads reviews so I went in with no expectations.

As it often happens, I was initially drawn by the cover and how unassuming and different in its quotidian it was. Add the synopsis to that and I knew this was gonna be one of those books that I would either devour in a night or give up before I hit the 100-page mark.

I wanted to read this book because of its original take on the "becoming disabled" storyline. Usually, when I read a book or watch a movie in which a character lives or is struggling with a new or old disability they are either there to be the super positive secondary character that is there to show the main character that no matter how bad their life is, at least they are not disabled or in case they are not supportive, something to be pitied and put away from the screen as soon as possible.

"The Coward" breaks that mould by not only having a person who lives with a disability as the hero but by refusing to make them into either a stereotype of what disabled people can achieve (if they put superhuman effort into not demanding anything of a world built for abled bodies) or a character that learns a valuable lesson in humility and then gets healed. Because Jarred is not an angel and becoming wheelchair-bound doesn't magically makes him a better person. For that, the story jumps back and forward, addressing not only what was done to him by others and what he did that brought him to moving back into his father's house from whom he had been estranged for ten years.

In a book filled with such an original plot and beautiful writing, my absolute favourite part was still the relationship between Jarred and his father. These are two people that could be and are the villains in a lot of people's lives, including each other's and their own, but as you get to know them you cannot help in see the good and all the trauma they carry with them. You understand why they made the choices they did, good and bad.

The constant jumps between Jarred's younger years and his present reconnecting with his father, made me FLY through this book. I know that Canongate meant for this to be a read-along but they should have picked a crappier book for that. I loved this one and couldn't stop myself from finishing it in three days (I was only slowed down by the guilt, I could have done it much sooner).

If you are too worried that this might be a bit heavy, it is but there is plenty of humour throughout, mostly when it comes to Jarred's and his father's interactions with each other and other people. The scenes in which they made fun or insulted people that discriminated against Jarred in particular must have felt incredibly cathartic to write and for a lot of other people to read, I'm sure.

This book reminded me a bit of The Paris Library in how wonderfully real it was: there were no heroes or villains, simply flawed, human people, growing up and trying to make the best of what they were given.

Conclusions

I recommend "The Coward" to absolutely everyone. This is not a book about a man that finds himself bound to a wheelchair but about not only forgiveness and dealing with all kinds of trauma, the most recent of which being that accident.

Thank you to Canongate for letting me be part of their first Read-a-Long

Rating: 4.5/5