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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
This is how I know if I'm reading a good story: after an hour or so of reading, when I put the book down and go about my business, in my head, I will narrate all my actions in the voice of the author.
I did that a lot with this book! Proulx's writing style really got under my skin. On top of that, the story was great, too. I love stories of perennial losers for some reason and the main character, Quoyle, certainly was a loser with a capital L. The plot follows Quoyle and his family as they move to Newfoundland and unravel all sorts of old family secrets etc etc. One of my favorite aspects of the book was Quoyle's relationship with his daughters, Sunshine and Bunny.
Overall, just a great book!
I did that a lot with this book! Proulx's writing style really got under my skin. On top of that, the story was great, too. I love stories of perennial losers for some reason and the main character, Quoyle, certainly was a loser with a capital L. The plot follows Quoyle and his family as they move to Newfoundland and unravel all sorts of old family secrets etc etc. One of my favorite aspects of the book was Quoyle's relationship with his daughters, Sunshine and Bunny.
Overall, just a great book!
Usually, I find Proulx's prose dense, clever, and rewarding; other times, she overwrites. Despite any unnecessary stylistic eruptions though, this is a sometimes ponderous but ultimately very rewarding read full of characters and a world (Newfoundland) that were previously unimaginable to me. She's as inventive a stylist as I have read in many a while, and the story eventually does bears up under the weight of those many words. Proulx's coming to the KAP House during the Fall of '10, and all you local bums better be there.
http://www.english.txstate.edu/kap/Events.html
http://www.english.txstate.edu/kap/Events.html
I liked this book, but I also didn't like it. So I'm pretty much on the fence on this one.
The main character, Quoyle, is a bumbling idiot who can never do anything right. Since he's the focus of the story, I shared in his successes and failures and found myself rooting for him. I love when fictional characters connect with me, which is why I liked this book.
But at the same time, I didn't like it. Don't get me wrong, Proulx has a beautiful way of writing, but it wasn't easy for me to keep up with what was going on plotwise, which made it hard for me to really be engrossed with the story. I don't know how to explain it, but Proulx tends to write important points in a hidden or subtle manner so you really have to read between the lines to understand them.
The main character, Quoyle, is a bumbling idiot who can never do anything right. Since he's the focus of the story, I shared in his successes and failures and found myself rooting for him. I love when fictional characters connect with me, which is why I liked this book.
But at the same time, I didn't like it. Don't get me wrong, Proulx has a beautiful way of writing, but it wasn't easy for me to keep up with what was going on plotwise, which made it hard for me to really be engrossed with the story. I don't know how to explain it, but Proulx tends to write important points in a hidden or subtle manner so you really have to read between the lines to understand them.
I reread this before traveling back to Newfoundland. Gives a pretty accurate sense of the place.
Just re-read this, as slowly as I could force myself to do it. It was just as wonderful as the first time I fell in love with it and Annie Proulx's writing.
This book was clearly not for me. I don't mind stories about losers, or life in desolate, small towns at the edge of civilization. I just couldn't stand the writing. It felt like the author was shouting You Are Now Reading Serious Literature in my face all the time. It annoyed the hell out of me. And I like a good metaphor like anyone else, but there were SO MANY and I don't ever want to see a facial feature (or feeling, or situation) verblessly compared to random (but supposed-to-be-evocative) food/drink/animal parts/nautical stuff ever again. Just tell me what colour their eyes are!!! Ffs.
not vibing with the setting atm. to pick up later (?)
It is very well written, but the plot was vague. A good book, just not the best I've read.