The Shipping News

A Literate Person

To criticize the writing in this excellent novel is to showcase an ignorance of the reality of cadenced and often clipped thoughts each of possess, especially at our more vulnerable moments.

This perfectly and artistically crafted novel is full of nuanced description, allegorical characters, and a poetic rhythm that makes for a totally unique read.

Brilliant.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Insanely Good

Definitely deserving of it's Pulitzer. I read a lot and normally know where a story is going and why, but this is so artfully complex and surprising, without being contrived. So well done!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

best book I've read in years!

Yes, it is complex, and yes, she does change the rules of grammar, but all to a purpose. Quoyle is symbolic of the aimless, empty lives so many of us live these days. By pure grace is he saved.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Proulx won an award for this?!

This has to be one of the worst books I have ever read. The writing was choppy and jumpy and what little character development there was didn't matter anyway because the characters weren't even believable. I only got to page 90 before I had to quit reading it and I usually never quit reading books, even when they're bad. This book was a major disappointment.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Exhausting

I really disliked this book. It's as though the author deliberately created a pretentious style of writing so that no one would notice how shallow the characters are. And if you're going to name every character with a noun (Al Catalog, Tate Card, Petal Bear), there should be some discernable meaning to those choices. I am an avid reader, and this is only the second book I have EVER quit reading before finishing it (the other was the uncut version of Heinlein's 'Stranger in a Strange Land'). I felt no sympathy for the characters, and found the plot unengaging. Sorry.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Perfect

Always be my favorie book

Stopped Reading It

I didn't like this book I actually stopped reading it, which is not something I normally do. Even if it's a book I don't really care for I still finish it. Not this book. I am so surprised that it won a Pulitzer Prize.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Very nice read

Proulx presents an interesting tale weaving together maritime lingo, knots, and know-how, with a bit of humor and the seldom shared realities of human life. I recommend the book as a fairly light read with some depth and interesting nuances.

Loved it!

No text was provided for this review.

Couldn't get through first 50 pages...

Just not my cup of tea. Wanted to like it as all my friends rave about it. Sorry.

Real Readers Relish It

I can't imagine anyone not placing this book at the top of their Must Read list. The characters are real - not grand in stature - but so like the rest of us - not pretty, struggling, abandoned, but filled with a great desire to find a life. As a former newspaper woman, I especially like the way our hero narrows everything down to alliterative headlines. How could you not howl when the entire family is confined to a single motel room and the dog is farting up a storm in its sleep: Farts Fell Family of Four. You've got to love it.

If I had to choose between reading this book again and hanging myself...

I'd hang myself. I could feel no real connection with any of the characters, and if there was any humor in the writing, it was lost on me. I could not stand the sentence fragments. I really wanted to read this because it was highly recommended by a relative, but I won't be taking her suggestions again. The ocean was way over-described, and the dialogue between the newsmen was void of any meaning or humor whatsoever. Save your $ and read something else (by a different author) that's not a chore to plod through.

Glad I read it

This is the story of Quoyle.. who is always the foil.. he was treated badly growing up, was severely emotionally abused throughout his marriage to a whorish nymphomaniac, and repeatedly got fired from his dead end job. So when his aunt suggests they move to Newfoundaland he picks up his children .. Bunny & Sunshine (love their names).. and moves.

In Newfoundland he is re-created. He becomes successful at his job. He is respected by others. The town has it's own quirkiness so he & the family fit in well.

I liked the story a lot. To me it really reflects how our roots affect us in ways we don't even realize. I think it's really cool when a character discovers things about themselves through digging into their ancestry. The writing style is quick and easy to read. The dialogue is engaging as the town people speak with their unique accent. I enjoyed reading this story of self-discovery.

thank goodness that's over...

It has been a long long time since I have been so happy to finally turn the last page of this book. Reading it was like walking through a quagmire. It was like swimming through molasses. It was like what I'm sure Wesley and Buttercup felt when they were in the lightning sand in "The Princess Bride". I'm sure you get the picture.

Yes, I know it's a Pulitzer Prize winner. It's a good thing I wasn't on the panel that decided that honor. The writing style was so tough to get into. Fragmented sentences made the book so choppy. Boring way to write. Lazy. And hurts readers' eyes. (Yes, I also know I use them, too, but this is casual writing, not a novel...) The characters just would not shut up, either. It seemed as though each chapter had Billy Pretty or Nutbeem or somebody going off on some lecture about something. Who cares?! Shut up! There were times I felt that the writer was so into thinking that she was good that she distracted herself from the story. Even her picture on the back of the jacket showed her with a smug smile on her face.

The story itself was ok; nothing mind-bendingly amazing. Man quits job after two-timing wife dies and moves to ancestral land of Newfoundland. Finds love and lives happily ever after. There, now you don't have to read it. I even included the fragmented sentences for you. If the story had been written by someone else, or if Ms. Proulx had a different writing style, then maybe it could have been good.

If you're suffering from insomnia or you want to take a nap or you just feel like reading a snoozer, definitely pick up this book. Maybe the movie's better...

maybe a little bit of happiness...

The Shipping News takes place on the unyielding yet beautiful Newfoundland coast. It is a story of the land, the sea and ultimately the heart. It is the story of Quoyle. Him and his two young daughters flee from the states to their ancestral home in Newfoundland. Quoyle lands a job at the local paper writing about car accidents and the shipping news. It doesn't matter that Quoyle's wife recently died in a car accident or that Quoyle knows nothing about boats or shipping. This book follows Quoyle and his struggle to find his place in the world and maybe a little bit of happiness. The Shipping News is full of quirky characters. The writing is delightfully original. Proulx is clearly an author worth checking out.

*The Shipping News won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1994

Best I've Read In Years!

Proulx's prose is as cutting and cool as the Newfoundland coast she writes about. The characters are so real, it's as if you could reach out and touch them. Haunting, and truly magical, a book about hope and the things that keep us going.

Give the book justice!

Much enjoyment comes out of reading such a complex book. Proulx has proven that rules of grammar can be broken. This novel isn¿t just for strong readers, but also for those wanting a challenge. Patience, though, is defiantly needed when reading this book and readers should not expect to complete this book quickly. I also urge readers not to give up on the book, despite the tiresome start, advising them to see it through, giving the book justice. I made the easy mistake of judging the book too early on, heavily disliking the structure and storyline. The further I read though, the more I began to enjoy the book, leaving with a satisfied feeling at the completion of the novel.

Wonderful

sI thought that this was one of the best books I have ever read. The way it is written is a little hard to get into, and it isn't an easy read. It took me four days to read it when normally it would have taken two. But it is worth it. It gives you everything. Sorrow. Love. Hate. Saddness. Hope. Wonder. It really was wonderful.

Wake me when its over...

I love Newfoundland, and I love the sea. ----- I give Proulx credit for capturing the Newfoundland voice and a bit of what life is like in fishing villages, and I appreciate learning many fascinating words... ------ But this book is an embarrassment to the Pulitzers, The PEN/Faulkner, and to the national Book Award. It makes it SO clear that they are little more than navel-gazing clubby Authors and Writing-Teachers giving colleagues Awards, rather than rewarding actual talent or story-telling skills. ------ Every book needs a character you can care about--this book has none. The characters are just empty, cookie-cutter frames for Proulx to hang her flowery language on. ------ The characters are pure stereotypes: The Very Bad Wife, The Gruff Newspaperman, The Wacky Cafe Owner, The Quiet Gentle Redeeming Girl. Ugh. ------ Worse yet, she has one pathetic attempt at livening the book up with a gratuitous and gory murder that, regrettably--has absolutely no relevence to the rest of the book. ------ And if you ask me--this is a sheltered author trying VERY hard to write about loss and pain when she clearly knows little of it, or at least cannot express it well. ------ This could and should be a book of great beauty and depth, but utterly fails because its clear she knows only how to write pretty sentences, but next to nothing about loss and pain.