The Shipping News

I felt like I was transported to Newfoundland. It is now on my bucket list. The personal growth of the main character, Quoyle, is profound. At first you almost despise him for his failings, but the reader ends up loving him. The cast of characters is quirky but extremely entertaining. When the house was dragged across the ice and cabled to the rocks, I could tangibly feel the cables quiver. Beautifully written.

Heaven help the reporter who cannot write, whose skill lies in filling notebooks with facts, quotes, and observations, but who simply cannot tell a story. That readers are willing, eager even, to cheer on clumsy Quoyle—the would-be journalist in The Shipping News—is due to Annie Proulx’s raw, honest prose. It’s hard to find a wasted word throughout. Each and every page moves the story forward or reveals insights that carry us down deep with Quoyle and then, slowly, toward better times. Mostly what you’ll feel is that if this oaf can find happiness, there’s hope for anyone.

The story of an awkward, rather unsuccessful man moving with his family to a remote fishing village in New Foundland attracted me because of the harsh climate, the challenging and remote landscape, and its bizarre events. The title of Proulx’s book The Shipping News, resonated with me in a deep way because I recalled listening in Reykjavik to the actual shipping news, announcing the location of every Icelandic boat and ship, as it was read out as part of the noon radio news each day. Beyond this, I was fascinated by Proulx’s use of language. Her freedom in using… show more.

This is perhaps Annie Proulx’s best novel, and I’ve read them all. The proud winner of a Pulitzer Prize in 1994, The Shipping News is a page-turning account of Quoyle, a New York journalist who loses his wife in a road accident. Grief-stricken, he heads to a remote corner of Newfoundland, from whence his ancestors hailed. An oddball himself, he encounters some of the most eccentric characters you’ll find in any work of fiction. 

Annie Proulx, in her unrivalled mastery of language and descriptive passages, brings each and every one of them to vibrant life. Not only that, but her… show more.