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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
I wanted to love this book. I saw the movie a billion years ago and remember loving the movie. As I read the book, however, I couldn't remember one thing about the movie (other than it was in Newfoundland, had Julianne Moore, and something about with cold, wet weather). I honestly started to question if this was the same thing.
I liked the book. But I can't honestly say what I liked about it. I didn't hate it, either. The writing style was so different... the sentences were so jilted and fragmented. It was almost disconcerting. We didn't get to know the characters (other than Quoyle) enough to actually understand or like any of them. What we did know of everyone just made it hard to find those redeeming characteristics and want to cheer for any of them. I felt like it was a chore to read a lot of the book. Just when I thought we were finally getting somewhere and I was enjoying it, the book ended. It ended rather quickly, too.
I liked the book. But I can't honestly say what I liked about it. I didn't hate it, either. The writing style was so different... the sentences were so jilted and fragmented. It was almost disconcerting. We didn't get to know the characters (other than Quoyle) enough to actually understand or like any of them. What we did know of everyone just made it hard to find those redeeming characteristics and want to cheer for any of them. I felt like it was a chore to read a lot of the book. Just when I thought we were finally getting somewhere and I was enjoying it, the book ended. It ended rather quickly, too.
The story opens with a description of Quoyle, the ultimate loser. He's big, ugly, married to a woman who sleeps with whoever she can, often at home, treated like dirt and doesn't protest, father to two girls. One thing - he loves with passion and great loyalty. With the loss of Petal (his wife) and the entry of his Aunt the story shifts as they move to Newfoundland. Over the course of time we see the characters start to flourish. A really beautiful story, I must admit I'm a sucker for seeing the bad redeemed and second chances grasped. About two thirds of the way through the story there is this line "Thirty -six years old and this was the first time anybody ever said he'd done it right". It made me pause and think about the influence we can have on others for good and bad.
I loved the writing some of the descriptions are just fabulous and bring the story to life. It's not a page turner but is a book you can sink in to savour slowly. Highly recommended.
I loved the writing some of the descriptions are just fabulous and bring the story to life. It's not a page turner but is a book you can sink in to savour slowly. Highly recommended.
challenging
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 ⭐️ I loved the Newfoundland environment acting as a pervasive main character cocooning the humans. At times I could smell, taste, hear, touch and feel this small New England area as if I had experienced it myself. But some of the description got to be too in the weeds for me and the unforgiving nature of the landscape seemed to seep into the emotions of the living and I had a hard time emotionally connecting with this book. There seemed to be a distance between the reader and this world that prevented me from fully being immersed in Quoyle’s story. That being said there is a quiet beauty to it that is incredibly admirable.
Found the writing style difficult to relax into, meaning reading this book felt more like a task than an enjoyable experience.
I stumbled across a reference to this book, realized I'd never read anything by Proulx, and checked it out from the public library. As winter here pretends to be ending (don't believe it) there's something comforting about reading a tale of people on the edge, in harsh climates, scrabbling out a living and yet remaining wholly human at the same time.
At first I found the sentence fragments off-putting - basically the whole novel is written in them - but then they grew on me. It's a form of narration that has much to offer. I wonder if this is always Proulx's style? or specific to this book.
It's a sprawly, rambling tale. I felt the ending was rushed. Actually I feel this way about many sprawling, rambly tales which I love (At Swim, Two Boys comes to mind). And Quoyle, hardly a sympathetic blighter at novel's open, grew on me over the course of the novel.
There's a refrain here of sadness borne out of limitations we place upon ourselves. Hardly the punch line for a novel, but that is a cornerstone of what I found here. It is a pleasure to see characters outgrow the self-imposed limitations.
At first I found the sentence fragments off-putting - basically the whole novel is written in them - but then they grew on me. It's a form of narration that has much to offer. I wonder if this is always Proulx's style? or specific to this book.
It's a sprawly, rambling tale. I felt the ending was rushed. Actually I feel this way about many sprawling, rambly tales which I love (At Swim, Two Boys comes to mind). And Quoyle, hardly a sympathetic blighter at novel's open, grew on me over the course of the novel.
There's a refrain here of sadness borne out of limitations we place upon ourselves. Hardly the punch line for a novel, but that is a cornerstone of what I found here. It is a pleasure to see characters outgrow the self-imposed limitations.
Wonderful, like a long, dreamy, gritty fable but not so needlessly romantic. Even more so if you’ve lived in Newfoundland and can envision the scenes better. Shoutout lesbian auntie also, she carried af.
(Ignore how long it took me to read this… tried to finish it before I left NL but failed, then had to wait months til I could get it again from a library in a different province. Don’t be like me)
(Ignore how long it took me to read this… tried to finish it before I left NL but failed, then had to wait months til I could get it again from a library in a different province. Don’t be like me)
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes