The Coward

Jarred McGinnis

Paperback

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A BBC TWO BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK

After a car accident Jarred discovers he'll never walk again. Confined to a 'giant roller-skate', he finds himself with neither money nor job, a shoplifting habit, an addiction to painkillers and strangers treating him like he's an idiot. Worse still, he's forced to live back home with his estranged father.

Trying to piece himself together, Jarred comes to realise that things don't have to stay broken after all. The Coward is about hurt and forgiveness, how the world treats disabled people, and how we write and rewrite the stories we tell ourselves about our lives - and try to find a happy ending.

Book Details

Publisher: Canongate Books
Publish Date: Apr 18th, 2023
Pages: 320
Language: English
Edition: Main - undefined
Dimensions: 7.60in - 5.10in - 1.10in - 0.50lb
EAN: 9781838851545
Categories: • Disabilities• World Literature - American - 21st Century• Literary

About the Author

McGinnis, Jarred: -

Jarred McGinnis is the co-founder of The Special Relationship, which was chosen for the British Council's International Literature Showcase. His short fiction has been commissioned for BBC Radio 4 and appeared in respected journals in the UK, Canada, USA and Ireland. He is an Associate Writer for Spread the Word, a fellow of the London Library's Emerging Writer Programme and a Writer-in-Residence for First Story. He also has a PhD in Artificial Intelligence, but mostly he inspires the able-bodied by using public transport and taking his daughters to the playground.

@JarredMcGinnis jarredmcginnis.com

Praise for this book

Sings from its first lines . . . unbearably poignant . . . a truly uplifting emotional journey; a tender, wise, brutally funny novel-- "Guardian"

Written with insight and savage wit . . . it is uplifting because McGinnis is a realist who never tries to sweeten the bitter experience of learning to navigate life in a wheelchair. His characters are vivid and impossible to forget, and he has an underlying optimism about the various ways in which muddled lives shake down and settle into something better-- "The Times"

This beautiful book is a testament to the way people can, in spite of everything, reforge shattered emotional bonds and repair seemingly doomed relationships. You won't find a more uplifting read in these dark times--IRVINE WELSH

Laceratingly funny, beautiful and true, true, true - right into its very human and very twisted heart. Read this book--A.L. KENNEDY

Visceral yet immensely witty . . . The sections describing the immediate aftermath of the crash are incredibly powerful-- "Herald"

Both absolutely devastating and ridiculously funny, sometimes within the span of a single paragraph. You'll want to murder McGinnis' mouthy anti-hero and also take him out for several pints. A big-hearted, quick-witted sucker punch of a first novel; readers who like their brutal honesty with a side of hope are really going to love The Coward--JAN CARSON

Riotously funny . . . the book is also a testament to our ability to forgive-- "Big Issue"

Efficient, bracing and bleakly comic-- "New Statesman"

A raw and unflinching look at a broken father-son relationship. At times viscerally honest but always gripping as the difficult journey to redemption and hope takes place against a backdrop of addiction, recrimination and an emotionally troubled history. Jarred McGinnis finds truth and humour in the brutal honesty that makes for a compelling read--MARK STRONG

Brutal, tender, moving and funny. Life as a novel--C.D. ROSE

This story of healing makes for a worthy debut-- "Publishers Weekly"

I wanted my novel, The Coward, to undercut the triumph-over-adversity trope and the inspiration porn clichés that publishing expects from stories about disability --LitHub

Topics discussed in the book include shoplifting and painkiller addictions, bullying and self-destruction. But it's also a story of hope-- "Sarasota Magazine"

This energetic novel about the fractured relationship between an estranged father and son. . . is powered by grimly, cynical wit-- "The Zoomer Bookclub"

Reviewers have singled out McGinnis's ability to mine the story for black comedy amidst the pathos -- "LOA"

While critics refer to "The Coward" as a work about redemption and salvation, Robert McGinnis sees the story of his son's recovery after the auto accident as more of a love story-- "Herald Tribune"

I hope The Coward helps people recognize that it's OK to be broken and beauty, hope, and humor reside even in the darkest moments of our lives-- "Writer's Digest"

Black comedy alternates with fragile tenderness in this vivid and fiercely honest novel-- "Daily Mail"

A story about stoicism, but also about what happens when you come apart in a very ugly way. A bold and brilliant novel