The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Shipping News
Book Review: "Quoyle Quest" A Personal Journey
Summary: 5 Stars
Perhaps it's because I read "The Shipping News" at a particularly vulnerable phase of my life--lost, unfocused, directionless--but I can say without hesitation that this novelchanged my life. A large sentiment, indeed, but one that I stand by even 7 years after my first read (I haved vowed to reread the novel at least once each year to remind me of how far I have come!) Quoyle is "everyman," or rather, every ordinary man. There is little unique about Quoyle's life...it is mundane, mediocre, and peppered with bad judgment, particularly with affairs of the heart. For those of us lucky enough to have experienced the "demon lover," however, Quoyle's madness for the devastating Petal strikes excrutiatingly close to home. Drawn into passion for a passionless woman makes no sense to a rational and objective mind, but this is the business of life, a most extraordinary,complex and mysterious journey.
The essence and true intent of the novel is recovery. We watch Quoyle as he transforms by miniscule degrees. There are no great revelations in his search for a good and meaningful life, just slow turnings (with a nod to John Hiatt). His growing love for Wavey isn't the stuff of champagne and fireworks. Instead it evolves, like the fragile threads of a finely woven and durable knot.
"The Shipping News" altered my own personal view of life and led me to see life as a process of change. I came to understand that life is merely a journey and each day, each experience, is a small step-stone toward achieving a full life. I no longer expect miracles: to quote Paul Simon, "when something goes wrong I'm the first to admit it." But what is retained from this novel is the knowlege that each day is a small part of a long journey with an unknown, unexpected result. This novel gave me the courage to endure the small and frequently mundane aspects of an ordinary life. When viewed in this light, every moment is momentous indeed.
Without doubt, "The Shipping News" changed my life. I am far more hopeful since incorporating it's lessons into my own growth as a "human bean."
I recommend it without reservation. For those of it who truly "get it" this novel can be life transforming. For those of us who don't--it's a sadly missed opportunity.
Book Review: 2nd time star
Summary: 4 Stars
Annie Proulx writies an amazing love story that incaptures readers with mystery and empathy for her hero, Quoyle. When I first read this book I was disappointed by the writing technique and the repetitive whinning and bad luck of the characters. After some study I became impressed by the characters and my second time through this book I noticed myself enjoying it more and became even excited with the way Ms. Proulx introduced some of her plots and her character's lifes. The depth of this book hit me the second time around.
The first couple pages need to be read twice before you even continue with this book. You will be surprised with how much you missed in just a few pages. This author creates characters that have lived through so much and still continue on living through their hard ships with some purpose, usually for someone else. Quoyle for example has the worst life but continues it only for the love of his daughters.
The Shipping News is for readers who hate sappy love stories, but believe in love. This book is about love at it's finest, something very unusual in this society and at this time.
Book Review: A "zinger" on every page.
Summary: 5 Stars
As all books must end, "Shipping News" was rationed for the last 80 pages. I simply did not want to say goodbye to my friends. Hopeful characters that gained color and fullness without revealing all, left me with enough room to muse their pasts and hope for their futures. It's not every day that one grieves the end of a book. Whether or not this was a true picture of New Foundland (NOOF'und-lund?) or not, it's endeared the Maritime way of life for me. I'll continue to rave and recommend it, as I have for the last 2 years!Book Review: A Book Truly Above Others
Summary: 5 Stars
Simply put this book shines. And shines. And shines. It is without doubt an absolute literary treasure. A beautifully, uncomplicated tale of a floundering father in search for a place in the big world though not quite sure how to go about doing so. Quoyle, the lead character, is a bumbling, overweight and utter social misfit, ill-at-ease in his lumbering physique and a novice in the ways of love, nevermind life. Though backward and undoubtedly eccentric he steadfastly plods onward, creating a new life for himself and his family in Newfoundland, and not only wins the hearts of the town folk but wins the readers hearts as wellBook Review: A Culmination of Style, Almost a Masterwork
Summary: 4 Stars
If this is the first Annie Proulx you read, you may get confused and then you've missed the point. Don't start with Shipping News. Delve back into Ms. Proulx's history and start with her earlier works. These are the primers for her style and it only gets better with each new work. Disregard the other reviews posted here about the book being difficult or tedious. These are readers that want a quick fix and they would be better served reading a book of her short stories, such as Wyoming Stories. The reviewers who gave her bad marks are also readers who don't recognize prose, even when it is at it's best. Annie Proulx paints the page with words as much as she writes. The style is delicious and much like a great meal, you don't want the book to end. The characters may be somewhat on the edge of unbelievability, but this is fiction, so relax and enjoy. No character gets killed off suddenly and you get to learn about each person as they evolve throughout this dense and complex work.
Don't let the movie throw you off, either. The producers picked badly with Kevin Spacey, and would have done better with Nick Nolte or Gerard Depardieu. These actors have the height, coloring and bulk needed to play the central character of Quoyle, a huge, shy and clumsy man who is both pathetic and lovable.
The only Proulxism that I'm not fond of is her "laundry list" style of discription in some cases. Mention 2 or 3 items in the list and you've given me enough to get a feel for the scene. Mention 9 items in a list and you've started to become tedious. But, that said, she does what she does well, and these are temporary setbacks in an otherwise perfect book.
So, read Wyoming Stories, move on to Postcards and then try your hand at Shipping News. You'll love each for the rich discriptions and the eccentric characters woven throughout.