This is a stunning book that highlights the impact of suddenly being unable to walk and how to accept everything that comes with this.

Everything about this book is gritty, completely stripped bare and so authentic. Jarred is a troubled character, long before his horrific accident, so when he faces life in a wheelchair his life spirals even more. It was all done so well and really gets you into the head of Jarred and just what life is like for him.

Throughout the book we learn more about Jarred and his life before the accident. Exploring what he had experienced was at times sad to read about but really helped to show just how misunderstood and lost he was. He was a character with such depth who will make you laugh at times with some of his comments but I couldn’t help care for him, even if he did make some careless decisions at times.

Whilst this book does highlight the struggles of coming to terms with a disability it also shows the relationship between a father and son, and how they slowly both face their demons to regain the relationship that was lost.

I will say it ends very abruptly but I’m really glad it did as I think it fit perfectly for the style of the book and leaves it open to interpretation.

Overall this was such an impressive story about life with a disability, the acceptance that comes with it and the unconditional love of family. Absolutely beautifully written with characters you will care about.

The Coward, Jarred McGinnis

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: General Fiction (Adult)

I wasn't really sure I could deal with this, part fiction, part bio read. I'm also in a wheelchair, like Jared I wasn't born disabled, and even now 25 years on the frustration between now and my “old” life is hard to deal with.

But I did read it, and what a gripping read it is. Jarred is such a real person. Too often we disabled folk are portrayed as some kind of saint – I've been patted like a dog, had my hair ruffled, been called Brave more times than I can count. We're people, same as able bodied folk, we get angry, we do bad things, we can be impatient, rude, arrogant....and Jarred illustrated most of those at times. There are times when I really want to be like Blunt Jarred. But that's not me ;-( I keep it inside. We are who we are.

Its hard reading, very hard at times but the type of book where you just have to keep going, see whats coming next. I felt for young Jarred but had the benefit of the wider view, knowing why he was acting out. His neighbours, the shopkeepers whose stock he was taking, the schools were he truanted, acted out will have a different view.
I feel for his frustration, I understand why he's rude to those helpful, well meaning folk. Some days you just can't take it. Its not their fault or yours, it just is.

Poor Jarred didn't have the greatest upbringing either, mum died young, dad took to the bottle and Jarred was left to his own devices. For a young, grieving teen that means trouble...and after a few more rows with Jack, his dad, he leaves at just 16. The next time Jack hears from him is ten years later.
Those ten years have changed Jack, but Jarred has been on some kind of merry go round, always searching, always moving on, until he comes to this forcible stop. He's still angry at life, his dad, his older brother, who it seems to him could have helped but turned a blind eye to what was going on.
Now he's even more to be angry about, and I understood his feelings so well. I found losing my work, losing my leg, equaled losing my identity. I just couldn't be grateful for the wheelchair, the false leg, the social workers who were well meaning but really didn't understand. Everything has to be relearned, even simple stuff like turning over in bed. No wonder Jarred was so angry, no wonder he didn't want to deal, he felt guilt for the accident and his friends death, still had his grief for his mum, issues with his dad. He couldn't just be grateful his dad took him in, he was angry and it really was a last resort going back to Jack. What an awful situation to be in.

It was a joy to read how slowly he and Jack found common ground, how his brother acknowledged his position in what happened, how Jack has dealt with his alcoholism and what he'd been doing in the intervening years. They both had a dry sense of humour, that came out at times. When they were laughing at the well meaning but patronizing people that struck a chord. The number of times I've said to family or friends. “I'm going to spit and scream at the next person to pat me”, or where I've paid for something and the change has been ( or attempted to be ) given to whoever is with me. They've been trained, ignore until finally assistant realises its Me that wants the change!)

Sarah was the real life saver, and what a wonderful lady she is/was. Again I'm not sure where reality stops and fiction begins but she was a gem, knew just when to stand back and when to push, exactly what Jarred – and Jack – needed. Her family, wonderful and I hope they're all real. I loved the scenes with Marcus and the time they took him out to the casino. Its back to that “disabled folk should accept their lot and not be out among able bodied people”. That's a very prevalent attitude, one I've met many times. Even my own father expected me at 37 to just be content to sit at home, give up my life. I didn't and I'm so glad Jarred found a way through too.
I've just read his bio, where it mentions his daughters, and that made me really happy that he's found the family he deserves.


Stars: Five, an astonishingly readable, gripping novel.

ARC supplied by Netgally and publishers

An interesting novel - possibly semi-autobiographical - about Jarred’s life in a wheelchair. A nasty accident is the result - but the outcome is not as tragic as what happened to Melissa, a girl who was involved with Jarred.

What follows is a tragi-cómic tale of Jarred moving back in with his father - someone he’s been estranged from for many years. Their relationship is damaged but his dad has Jarred’s best interests at heart. Jarred, however, seems intent on disruption: losing jobs, destroying relationships, and throwing people’s charity back at them.

I enjoyed this - and it highlights how less-able-bodied people have so many different struggles which we might not consider.

It's a well-written book but it was way too morbid and misery-laden for my taste. I get it, it's a bad situation for all - disabled, drug-addicted, trauma - but I prefer books with more of a story, with hopefully some moments of levity or leaps of imagination, and this one didn't have any of that. The story, such as it is, doesn't really develop much beyond the initial premise, and the relationship examination wasn't nearly as deep or profound as I'd hoped to justify a novel. Wasn't the book for me unfortunately.

I was drawn to The Coward by the desire to read the story of someone suddenly confined to a wheelchair, having had to make use of a wheelchair myself (although only temporarily following a hip fracture), which opened my eyes to some of the difficulties that face wheelchair users, some of which I had considered previously, others that hadn’t occurred to me. My experience shone just a dim light on the issues in comparison to someone like Jarred, the protagonist and narrator, whose disability is permanent after a car accident leaves him paralysed.

His sudden, obviously life-changing disability is just part of the story. The narration switches between Jarred’s current situation – now back living with his widowed father, Jack, having no contact with him for the last ten years since he ran away from home as a teenager – and his difficult childhood and adolescence. I felt a great deal of sympathy for both Jarred and Jack in their past and present situations, along with frustration with them both from time to time. “Oh, please don’t say/do that” I pleaded constantly.

What I absolutely loved was the black humour and repartee between the two of them and the off-the-wall, slightly unkind way Jarred uses his humour against some of the other people he comes into contact with. I also adored the character of Sarah.

Although a lot of the narrative quite rightly left me feeling very uneasy, there are flickers of hope scattered throughout the story, leading to healing of the past and optimism for the future.

I am so glad I read this book. It was such a lovely read. Primarily the book is about family relationships, self-esteem, self-perception and surviving various types of trauma. The writing makes you really understand Jarred, the main character, and his relationships and anger with various people in his life. The novel is well put together and has a two-track storyline (I’m reading quite a few books like this at the moment) in the present and past – and they sort of meet in the middle. It’s one of those books where you don’t ‘love’ every character but you see them, as people with their advantages and flaws. For that, it was a really great read. The kind of book that increases your ability to feel empathy and warms your heart. I feel I got an insight into daily life of the character Jarred and his experience of being a wheelchair user and consequent complications / difficulties. For me, it was the little things, like the nicks around the door frame from the chair, and things that as a non-wheelchair user/ person without direct experience you wouldn’t think of.
Also, after I read the book, I realised the main character has the same name as the author. I didn’t and don’t know to what extent it’s autobiographical – or re-imagined autobiographical but the photo on his website was taken by Sarah McGinnis (!?) which is intriguing.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to everyone
with thanks to the publishers and netgalley for the arc of this book in exchange for this review

I found this an absorbing read , for me it delivered everything that the promotional summary promised.
The characters came alive for me, I drank coffee with Jack and Jarred , felt Jarred’s rage and sense of futility. The family dynamics and history are gradually revealed, there are surprises along the way and no easy answers.
A fierce and fulfilling read.

I wasn’t able to finish this book. I really wanted to like it and I know many others loved it. The problem was that after reading almost half of it, I didn’t feel any affinity with Jarred or Jack and there didn’t seem to be much progession in the story. The style of flitting between current day and Jarred’s childhood/teenage years was also somewhat confusing because there was no indicator of when each chapter was set so I found myself having to stop to check where we were.

I found this an honest novel of Jarred which covered many difficult situations that are written about with passion. After a tragic car accident, Jarred finds himself in a wheelchair having to move back in with his father despite not being in contact with him for 10 years.

The book does flit about a bit from past to present describing Jarred’s issues he has had to deal with and has to deal with. These range from emotional and physical, to financial and addictions. This obviously explains about the pain in Jarred’s life but did confuse me a little now and then.

But the characters are enjoyable to read and I especially liked the dry, yet sometimes dark humour adding to a good story. A very good read and one that will make you think about how lives can change in an instant with something like a serious accident, and how that can lead on to help address difficulties with positivity.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review

A touching, moving and gritty exploration into what forms us as people.

This story of Jarred who loses the ability to walk and becomes wheelchair bound and has to reintegrate himself back into a life with his estranged Father is a deep read.

Families and tragedy and what becomes of us when things are so terribly changed,

Whilst I will honestly say I did not like or enjoy Jarred , this poignant story was a read i am glad to have had

I loved the anti-hero that is Jarred. He is a highly relatable character, making mistakes despite his best intentions. His renewed relationship with his widowed father, Jack, of whom he'd been estranged for the past ten years, is so moving and true-to-life. The Coward is a beautifully-written novel, with a protagonist you will miss after spending a book-length in his company.

Definitely a book that draws you in. No matter what Jarred reveals about himself in the past and his behaviour in the here and now, you cannot help but be drawn to him and, if nothing else, admire the ferocity of his reactions to how he believes life has treated him. The humour is subtle and sits comfortably within his own pain and suffering and that which he causes to others. A book about the enduring powers of love, family and finding redemption.

*3.5 stars *

Question: “What's worse than being in a wheelchair?
Answer: Being a fuck-up in a wheelchair” - Jarred McGinnis

Jarred and his father have always had a difficult and sometimes violent relationship - until Jarred’s accident, they hadn’t even seen each other for 10 years.

Part memoir, part fiction, this is Jarred McGinnis’s story - he was an angry and disruptive teenager, and suffered psychotic episodes, and the intervening years were not kind either, but because he bottled up his feelings of guilt and hurt, he became an angry twenty something too, and then he had a life changing accident that left him without the use of his legs.

With no money and no job, Jarred finds himself back in his childhood home with his father, where painful and long held resentments are laid bare. Jarred is one heck of a put down merchant, his remarks are caustic to put it mildly, he quite simply alienates people, but it’s clearly a barrier against the world, because he doesn’t want to get close to people - he feels he doesn’t deserve happiness, but you know something - he’s spectacularly amusing at times!

Sometimes we need to see what’s right in front of us, stop fighting, start talking, (not the easiest thing to do, sharing our inner most thoughts).

A gritty look at relationships, and in particular Jarred’s relationship with his father, after Jarred’s mum died from an aneurysm. His father Jack, unable to cope with his loss, turned to the bottle, leaving Jarred to pretty much bring himself up, but is their relationship doomed forever, or can they put the hurt behind them, the broken lives and broken dreams, and start again? Lots of deep and meaningful stuff here.

The Coward is an incredibly honest memoir/fiction novel about the life of Jarred McGinnis from a troubled, angsty teen to a troubled angsty grown up. After a tragic car accident, Jarred finds himself in a wheel chair and forced to move back in with the father he'd run away from ten years previously. Jarred has to deal with a myriad of problems, emotional, physical, financial and medical, as a result of the accident, whilst also trying to deal with the issues from his teen years that caused him to run away in the first place.
I already miss the characters. I loved the dry humour of both Jarred and Jack and how they deal with the stares and misunderstood comments of strangers. I giggled at their responses to the people around them. Their father/son relationship is fraught with how they care for each other and yet still bare the raw and painful scars of the past.
The novel delves into how we deal with grief, loss and addiction. It's enlightening, and avoids being patronising or overly sentimental. A really touching book that I highly recommend. I genuinely cared about the characters and found it impossible to put this book down.
This is a fantastic novel which I really enjoyed. Thanks to Netgalley and canongate for an ARC of this novel.

The Coward was a great book! This is not necessarily the type of book I would normally pick up (and I was on the fence about whether or not to go for this), but I was very pleasantly surprised!

The good:

✧ It felt very honest and real. The story was touching and generally very well-written. I was gripped by the characters, especially Jack and Jarred. I found myself quickly attached to Jarred and his dark humour and spent a lot of the book willing him to better himself and his relationships. I do think that, as the main character, people will either love him or hate him, and this will play a big part as to whether or not they enjoy the book.

The bad:

✦ I don't have much criticism here. I felt that the story meandered a little at times. I also think Melissa, being quite a significant character in Jarred's life, could've been fleshed out a little better. I didn't really feel much about her relationship with Jarred and her ultimate fate.

Overall, this was a really compelling read that covered some important, hard-hitting themes. I hope a lot more people pick this up when it comes out in about two weeks!

2.5 stars ⭐️

The Coward follows the story of Jarred, estranged from his father, still grieving the loss of his mother and learning to live following a car accident which leaves him bound to a wheelchair.

Examining themes of masculinity, loss, coming of age, relationships and of course living with a disability, it is not an easy read and there are plenty of moments of shade.

I found Jack and Sarah’s characters very well written overall. I felt I understood their lives and the way they acted, as well as what brought them to this point.

As a protagonist I found Jarred incredibly hard to like and resonate with. I found his quips and rudeness towards others about his new disability very honest and refreshing and it made me check my privilege. However, how he acts in some parts of the book really did make it hard for me to like him.

The structure of the book was also something I struggled with as it jumps from present to past throughout, constantly introducing new characters and settings which was just a little too confusing for a fairly short story where not that much actually happens or changes after the first 100 pages.

I also wish the author had elaborated more on the accident. How it happened, the aftermath, was the other driver hurt or charged and also what happened to Melissa? How did she die and what about her family who were raising a court case?

I think a lot of loose ends needed tying up at the end of this book. But instead the ending just left me feeling like it was unfinished. The ending is really blunt and just let me down. I was about to round this review up to 3 stars, but just couldn’t justify it after the ending unfortunately.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the book to review.

This is a very moving and open account of life after a terrible accident and a look back at a very fractured family. It's quite a bleak read at times and sometimes I struggled with that, wanting something a little more uplifting. Also I wasn't sure where it was going - which can be a good thing in a novel, but I wanted a little more idea really. I wasn't always sure quite what I was rooting for, if that makes sense.
But overall, I liked the tone and the honesty and would definitely recommend it.

Took me ages to work out if this was an autobiography of some sort and to be honest, I still don't know.
What I do know is this covered disability, death and relationships like I book I've never read before and I loved it!
Thank you Jarred, what an amazing debut novel.

This is a compelling book that had me reading right through to the end.
It follows Jarred as he is forced to return home after losing the use of his legs in a car accident. This is the first time he has been home in ten years after his mother died and his relationship with his alcoholic father fell apart.
The book is about anger, about families, about fathers and sons. I because drawn into both Jarred and his father Jack's lives as they negotiated a way to live together, to share space, and to discover a new way of being father and son.