The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Shipping News
Book Review: A worthwhile read, but overrated.
Summary: 3 Stars
This book is good for a few reasons, mostly Ms. Proulx's exceptionally vivid imagery. She creates colorful pictures with, it seems, great ease, by stringing together a few words in short, efficient sentences or in sentence fragments. She's also very funny. There's a line I won't soon forget, at the novel's start, about how the pathetic Quoyle spends his nights: "Dreamt of love. Why not? A free country." My problem with the novel is its slowly paced, predictable plot: Likable guy goes from an unbelievably miserable life to an unbelievably sweet and happy one. That's not to say the idyllic ending in itself is bad; it was the long, slow progression to the happy ending that I object to.
I didn't expect that particular problem. The novel starts off strong, witty and sharp, not taking itself too seriously and presenting an instantly sympathetic protagonist, whose life is summarized neatly with the telling of a few heartbreaking, absurd events. Once Quoyle gets to Newfoundland, however, the story grinds to a virtual halt. The clarity of the early chapters is gone. Suddenly, it seems you're trudging through a series of vignettes that have little to do with one another: Quoyle's daughter has irrational fears; she gets over them. An unhappily married couple visit the harbor; weeks later, the man's murdered body drifts ashore by Quoyle's house. Life on Newfoundland can be dull; the assistant who works for Quoyle's aunt is desperately trying to get a job elsewhere. Fascinating. Some of these anecdotes are amusing, but they don't weave together to create much of anything, certainly not any explanation of the fairy tale magic that transforms Quoyle from a pathetic oaf at the novel's start to a robust self-assured man at the end.
At the same time, the writer has an annoying tendency of skimming over events that are significant to Quoyle's development as a character. For instance, he apparently witnesses some sort of mishap with an oil tanker that heightens his appreciation for the island environment. But we're not there when it happens -- we learn about it during a newsroom conversation days after the fact. Similarly, Quoyle's friendship with Dennis and Beety seems to be significant; after all, back in upstate New York he was a social moron, unable to maintain any normal relationship outside of his friendship with the pitying Partridge. But again, the reader doesn't really see the new friendship being formed -- one day Quoyle meets Dennis and Beety, then suddenly they're all sitting down to dinner like long lost relatives at holiday-time. I found these omissions a bit frustrating, and they made me less tolerant of Ms. Proulx's endless digressions into the history of old sea storms and oddly shaped rocks in Newfoundland waters.
I don't mean to sound too critical -- the book is definitely worth reading. It's a sweet story and, again, the descriptive writing is fun. I'm just surprised by all the unqualified praise for this novel.
Book Review: Absolute
Summary: 5 Stars
I have found the best in art is not so easy, but the rewards of struggle and occasional victory can be life altering. Every single page of To Kill a Mockingbird tells of some enduring truth; I caught a glimpse of what I can only call God in The Color Purple. For me, The Shipping News is in that same strange space, that mortals such as myself only rarely glimpse. As high and cold as the stars or the bottom of the sea, out on a frozen rock in the middle of nowhere, M Proulx gives us a Quoyle, thereby giving us ourselves.Book Review: An Incredible Feat by a wondrous writer
Summary: 5 Stars
Some books, like valued friends, are a constant source of support. E. Annie Proulx's "The Shipping News" is such a book. A first reading introduces a magician of language, a unique style of communication, and an almost unbelievable mastery of descriptive information about a place little known to most readers (Newfoundland). Opening this book before it won almost all the prizes available to writers was a fresh introduction not unlike reading Melville or Conrad the first time. Proulx plunges us so convincingly into new territory that turning the pages is like walking in a foreign land, meeting compelling characters, discovering the raw life of the pioneer psyche. Writing in terse sentence fragments, spinning elegies when a character encounters the sea, the cold, the delicate hidden secrets of the past, describing the smells and tastes (like fried bologna and screech) and the manners of the bizarre townfolk of this strange place.......Proulx has few equals in the field today. The evidence of extensive research is everywhere and yet never flagrantly intrusive. Just comfortable.Re-reading, and YES I do encourage visiting this old friend again, only serves to enhance the impact of the first time 'round. How she is able to populate this story with the variety of people she does, making us want to penetrate the interstices of their lives beyond the hints given us, is a question that doesn't beg an answer: it is enough to just marvel.
Curl up, cup of hot tea at hand, and travel to the special place Proulx has created. A magnificent book with incredible staying power.
Book Review: An Insight into Newfoundland
Summary: 3 Stars
The Shipping News wonderfully illustrates the landscape and life of Newfoundland. The bleekness and bitter cold of Newfoundland serves as a backdrop to this dark comedy. Proulx brings out the culture of the area by carefully crafting the dialect within the conversations.The 3-star rating is due to the difficulty I had involving myself in the book. I did not find the book openly invites the reader.
Book Review: An Original Novel
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Shipping News" shocked me with its crisp, evocative prose. Reading this book is like learning a new language - not easy at first, but in time you are rewarded with a gift of rich new meaning.This book has so much to offer that its appeal can be difficult to describe: fascinating descriptions of an exotic (to me) location and culture; a funny, heartwarming story of a man coming to terms with himself; and a stimulating intellectual construct, illustrating how our various relationships are like different types of knots in the rope of our lives.
I unreservedly recommend "The Shipping News" to anyone with a heart, a mind, or a soul.