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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
Whoa. This book was cray-cray. Very much looking forward to seeing the movie now because there are scenes in the book that I am CERTAIN will not translate to film. Pretty darn good.
Had such a hard time getting into this. The characters never really came to life for me, so it was kind of hard work getting through it. Unique writing style was also challenging, and not really my preferred style. Life seems hard in Newfoundland...
Quoyle is the middle-aged protagonist of the novel; considered a failure by just about everybody he knows (his parents, his brother, most of his co-workers, his wife). Then, all at once, several deaths occur in quick succession, which prove to be a significant windfall for the floundering Quoyle. He moves to Newfoundland, his ancestral home, and begins life anew.
My first impression of this novel was a very negative one. Ms. Proulx writes in a very clipped, brief style that I was not terribly fond of. However, as I worked my way through the book, I found the story so compelling that I did not notice the style any more. It became secondary to the story.
The story itself I found very confusing until the very end. Perhaps I am just not very perceptive, but I had no idea that it was about the different types of love until the last couple of chapters. Ms. Proulx hints at this overall theme, but it is not until the very end that the main character experiences a small revelation that unifies the novel. Much like the style in which the book is written, I found this very frustrating until the very end of the book. The lesson here: even if you don't really like a book, you should still read it. It might surprise you, as this one did me.
Now that I know that the novel is about love, the storyline makes more sense. It seems very hodgepodge and pointless for the majority of the book, and I think this is intentional. The fact that just about every chapter begins with an excerpt about knots and rope is also telling. It is about the old, hackneyed theme of the "ties that bind us," but presented in a new way. Rather than romanticizing the theme, as so often happens, Ms. Proulx brings it down. She sets the majority of the story in a fishing community in Newfoundland, filled with rough and quirky "characters" (both in the literal and euphemistic sense of the word). The protagonist works at a newspaper that is dominated by ads, rather than news. It is a quiet, boring place. And yet, this is the setting to explore relationships. I think this provides the opportunity for a more in-depth examination of these relationships.
I think what struck me most about this novel is the transformation of the main character. He starts off living in a trailer with a wife that was hardly home for all her sexual adventures, two children, working seasonally at best. He was living a life that led nowhere, stayed in filth. By the end, he is the head of a newspaper, owns a house, helps build his own boat, and provides for his two daughters. The change is remarkable, and I think it is a testament to the effects love - both good and bad - have on our character.
I won't say much more, because I think a lot of the book is explained in the final few chapters. So, read it.
My first impression of this novel was a very negative one. Ms. Proulx writes in a very clipped, brief style that I was not terribly fond of. However, as I worked my way through the book, I found the story so compelling that I did not notice the style any more. It became secondary to the story.
The story itself I found very confusing until the very end. Perhaps I am just not very perceptive, but I had no idea that it was about the different types of love until the last couple of chapters. Ms. Proulx hints at this overall theme, but it is not until the very end that the main character experiences a small revelation that unifies the novel. Much like the style in which the book is written, I found this very frustrating until the very end of the book. The lesson here: even if you don't really like a book, you should still read it. It might surprise you, as this one did me.
Now that I know that the novel is about love, the storyline makes more sense. It seems very hodgepodge and pointless for the majority of the book, and I think this is intentional. The fact that just about every chapter begins with an excerpt about knots and rope is also telling. It is about the old, hackneyed theme of the "ties that bind us," but presented in a new way. Rather than romanticizing the theme, as so often happens, Ms. Proulx brings it down. She sets the majority of the story in a fishing community in Newfoundland, filled with rough and quirky "characters" (both in the literal and euphemistic sense of the word). The protagonist works at a newspaper that is dominated by ads, rather than news. It is a quiet, boring place. And yet, this is the setting to explore relationships. I think this provides the opportunity for a more in-depth examination of these relationships.
I think what struck me most about this novel is the transformation of the main character. He starts off living in a trailer with a wife that was hardly home for all her sexual adventures, two children, working seasonally at best. He was living a life that led nowhere, stayed in filth. By the end, he is the head of a newspaper, owns a house, helps build his own boat, and provides for his two daughters. The change is remarkable, and I think it is a testament to the effects love - both good and bad - have on our character.
I won't say much more, because I think a lot of the book is explained in the final few chapters. So, read it.
I'm not sure what I think about it. I can tell you what I did.
At first I enjoy Proulx's style but about three quarters of the way through the book I just began to skip over some of her drawn out style. It seemed to me to be excess of the story which I was really more interested in than how she told it.
I know there are people out there who will consider this a blasphemy against her genius. But when you wax so poetic and your reader just wants you to get on with the action . . . is that the fault of the reader or the writer?
Or culture?
I did spend an entire afternoon finishing it so there must've been something to love.
To each his own. Not a bad book. A great writer. I did enjoy the story and her imagery and character will definitely stay with me for some time.
At first I enjoy Proulx's style but about three quarters of the way through the book I just began to skip over some of her drawn out style. It seemed to me to be excess of the story which I was really more interested in than how she told it.
I know there are people out there who will consider this a blasphemy against her genius. But when you wax so poetic and your reader just wants you to get on with the action . . . is that the fault of the reader or the writer?
Or culture?
I did spend an entire afternoon finishing it so there must've been something to love.
To each his own. Not a bad book. A great writer. I did enjoy the story and her imagery and character will definitely stay with me for some time.
I found the writing style quirky and the pace, at first, to be slow, but I ended up really liking this book. I've been a professional journalist for most of my adult life and always like seeing how journalists are portrayed in fiction. Proulx gets small-town newspapers right.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Gosh this was good. My first experience with her. Really steady and reliable writing- especially internal and external dialogue. I am a sucker for award-winning books and it's pretty rare to get the Pulitzer and the NBA, so honestly, hats off to you Annie Proulx. I'll definitely read more.
It was good overall, but also felt a bit random at times. i didn't hate the plot but at times it felt quite surface level. Also the names were a bit weird, and the cremation thing was odd.
A wonderful read! I have seen the movie several times, and I am not normally one to say this, but they actually did a really good job with the movie based on this book. I enjoyed the book a lot more than I thought I would at first. I could picture the characters from the movie in my head as I read, which gave it a little element of fun.
This book was assigned reading in one of my first creative writing courses during my (first) run through college and, apart from Blood Meridian, the only one I recall finishing. The only one, again, apart from Blood Meridian, I read with any enthusiasm. And then by far. This was a book for which I would ignore class discussion in order to read.
The strangeness of this novel spoke to me and set it apart from the wealth of other books I read over the course of a college curriculum, including V.S. Naipal's A Bend in the River, J.M. Coatzee's Disgrace (which I enjoyed more than others), Nadine Gordimer's The Conservationist, Lorrie Moore's Anagrams, Jack Kerouac's On the Road, and several others considered works of art so uninspiring I can't even remember the titles.
Maybe this was a consequence of working two jobs and going to school full time. I had difficulty concentrating, so it took something significant and maybe less cerebral to help me engage. I've often considered going back to these books to make sure I wasn't simply a lousy reader, which I would accept as a legitimate assessment. I still have the softcover copies from the college book store. But each time I can't decide which one I want to read most, and in the end decide I don't want to read any of them.
I trust this instinct. Take a look at my average book rating--I have a really good sense of what I'm going to like and what to steer from.
On the other hand, my first run through school did introduce me to Voltaire's Candide, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, and Thomas Hardy's Tess of D'Urberville's (of which I read only a few pages and thought hilarious).
I'm not sure what this reveals about my reading preferences, but amongst these works The Shipping News stands head and shoulders above the rest. It really isn't close.
The language, the setting, the dialogue, the plot, and the ability to turn something simple and droll into something fascinating (the actual shipping news was pretty dull), not to mention tying (PUN) descriptions of knots into the beginning of each chapter to provide a form of outline for the coming events. Reading this book was like staring down into the exposed clockwork of a gear-powered wristwatch. The large movements resulting from small were all equally fascinating.
The sense of fascination the book gave me is rare. The only book in recent memory to provide something similar is Measuring the World, by Daniel Kehlmann. Each could hurl something utterly bizarre into a tale, and the surrealism and storytelling is so powerful one never doubts for a moment that it belongs.
The Shipping News proved cathartic for me as an aspiring young writer. It meant all the things I wanted to get away with, I could, in spite of the institutionalized program that wanted me to write about things I considered much more dull (see list above).
I am an all-right writer (that's the extent of my self aggrandizement) who didn't cotton to the topics most people write about in undergraduate writing programs. Thanks to Annie Proulx, I no longer felt the compulsion to do so.
The strangeness of this novel spoke to me and set it apart from the wealth of other books I read over the course of a college curriculum, including V.S. Naipal's A Bend in the River, J.M. Coatzee's Disgrace (which I enjoyed more than others), Nadine Gordimer's The Conservationist, Lorrie Moore's Anagrams, Jack Kerouac's On the Road, and several others considered works of art so uninspiring I can't even remember the titles.
Maybe this was a consequence of working two jobs and going to school full time. I had difficulty concentrating, so it took something significant and maybe less cerebral to help me engage. I've often considered going back to these books to make sure I wasn't simply a lousy reader, which I would accept as a legitimate assessment. I still have the softcover copies from the college book store. But each time I can't decide which one I want to read most, and in the end decide I don't want to read any of them.
I trust this instinct. Take a look at my average book rating--I have a really good sense of what I'm going to like and what to steer from.
On the other hand, my first run through school did introduce me to Voltaire's Candide, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, and Thomas Hardy's Tess of D'Urberville's (of which I read only a few pages and thought hilarious).
I'm not sure what this reveals about my reading preferences, but amongst these works The Shipping News stands head and shoulders above the rest. It really isn't close.
The language, the setting, the dialogue, the plot, and the ability to turn something simple and droll into something fascinating (the actual shipping news was pretty dull), not to mention tying (PUN) descriptions of knots into the beginning of each chapter to provide a form of outline for the coming events. Reading this book was like staring down into the exposed clockwork of a gear-powered wristwatch. The large movements resulting from small were all equally fascinating.
The sense of fascination the book gave me is rare. The only book in recent memory to provide something similar is Measuring the World, by Daniel Kehlmann. Each could hurl something utterly bizarre into a tale, and the surrealism and storytelling is so powerful one never doubts for a moment that it belongs.
The Shipping News proved cathartic for me as an aspiring young writer. It meant all the things I wanted to get away with, I could, in spite of the institutionalized program that wanted me to write about things I considered much more dull (see list above).
I am an all-right writer (that's the extent of my self aggrandizement) who didn't cotton to the topics most people write about in undergraduate writing programs. Thanks to Annie Proulx, I no longer felt the compulsion to do so.