Coasting: Running Around the Coast of Britain – Life, Love and (Very) Loose Plans

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Occasional binge drinking alongside of a breakup with an abusive boyfriend features prominently in the narrative. I suppose his sailing experiences are deeply and essentially solitary and it is within this reference frame that he is at his most creative. Best known for his nautical writing, this book is a mixture of travel (sailing on a 4000 mile single-handed voyage around the coast of Britain at the age of 40), personal reminiscences of his life as the only son of a vicar, a mediocre student ‘coasting’ through life, trailing an unfinished Masters and Phd behind him.

Using beautifully crafted language, his descriptions of the sea in its various moods, small ports and (crumbling) villages are enchanting.This might be a story about someone going for a gargantuan run but it's about mind over matter and the profound impact kindness in society has on us.

As such, this was an enjoyable read - not exactly awe-inspiring but it kept me interested throughout the story and some bits were particularly funny, relatable or even insightful.This book was written in the mid-1980s, reflecting on a Britain of the Falklands War, Margaret Thatcher, and the miners' strikes. While in the States, Raban has written Bad Land (1996), Passage to Juneau (1999) and Driving Home (2011) as well as such fictional works as Waxwings (2003) and Surveillance (2006).

Great travel literature has a way of shining a light on deep truths, those fundamental aspects of a culture that reveal themselves again and again.

her cross, nanny's voice made it sound as if there had been ructions in the nursery and the children were going to be sent to bed without any tea.