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From Amazon
In this touching and atmospheric novel set among the fishermen of Newfoundland, Proulx tells the story of Quoyle. From all outward appearances, Quoyle has gone through his first 36 years on earth as a big schlump of a loser. He's not attractive, he's not brilliant or witty or talented, and he's not the kind of person who typically assumes the central position in a novel. But Proulx creates a simple and compelling tale of Quoyle's psychological and spiritual growth. Along the way, we get to look in on the maritime beauty of what is probably a disappearing way of life.
From Publishers Weekly
Proulx has followed Postcards , her story of a family and their farm, with an extraordinary second novel of another family and the sea. The fulcrum is Quoyle, a patient, self-deprecating, oversized hack writer who, following the deaths of nasty parents and a succubus of a wife, moves with his two daughters and straight-thinking aunt back to the ancestral manse in Killick-Claw, a Newfoundland harbor town of no great distinction. There, Quoyle finds a job writing about car crashes and the shipping news for The Gammy Bird , a local paper kept afloat largely by reports of sexual abuse cases and comical typographical errors. Killick-Claw may not be perfect, but it is a stable enough community for Quoyle and Co. to recover from the terrors of their past lives. But the novel is much more than Quoyle's story: it is a moving evocation of a place and people buffeted by nature and change. Proulx routinely does without nouns and conjunctions--"Quoyle, grinning. Expected to hear they were having a kid. Already picked himself for godfather"--but her terse prose seems perfectly at home on the rocky Newfoundland coast. She is in her element both when creating haunting images (such as Quoyle's inbred, mad and mean forbears pulling their house across the ice after being ostracized by more God-fearing folk) and when lyrically rendering a routine of gray, cold days filled with cold cheeks, squidburgers, fried bologna and the sea.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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First Sentence
HERE is an account of a few years in the life of Quoyle, born in Brooklyn and raised in a shuffle of dreary upstate towns. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
HERE is an account of a few years in the life of Quoyle, born in Brooklyn and raised in a shuffle of dreary upstate towns. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
You either love it or you don't,
By booklass "Homemaker, English grad., passionat... (San Angelo, TX, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Shipping News (Mass Market Paperback)
I loved this book. The prose reflected the subject being described. When the setting is being described, it's beautiful, flowing, free. When you start getting into the characters, you find that the dialogue and description are less flowing, and this fits the awkward, dysfunctional qualities that each of the characters had. The triumph is that despite their rather sizeable quirks, there's still hope, joy and incredible bravery in the end. I felt like I was drawn into another place amongst people who, while a bit weird, were all the more real. I was not just caught up in the main character's woes, but into the day to day life of the rest of the inhabitants. I highly recommend this book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Missed the boat!,
By snowblaze (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Shipping News (Paperback)
I was looking forward to this novel with great anticipation. I felt like I saw the lives of the characters only in glimpses... controlled by an author who did not develop them fully. Disappointed.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Moving and immersing,
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This review is from: The Shipping News (Paperback)
One of my favourite stories. A real feel-good book. Even without seeing the film you can almost taste the salt in the air. The characters are rich and diverse, the scenery is vivid and the situations just strange enough to be believable. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.
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