When I was told under no uncertain circumstances that I must read E. Annie Proulx's The Shipping News, I was nervous. Why? I didn't think it wouldn't be good - I've read enough of her stories in the New Yorker, and besides, it won a Pulitzer. So again, why? Because when someone raves to me about a book, I'm always worried that my expectations will be too high, and then I won't enjoy it as much. (Oddly enough, this does not stop me from doing the same thing to friends, family, strangers, etc.)
So my borrowed copy of the book stayed on my shelf roughly forever. Until this past week. And quite honestly, I was entranced. It has this quiet, peaceful energy. I felt very calm while I was reading, even if the particular plot points were not calm indeed. And in my mind I kept comparing Newfoundland to Maine, where I visited last summer. I was infused with a sense of serenity, and slowness. It was lovely.
Proulx is an amazing detailist. As a result, the world of the novel comes through picture perfect. It seems very foreign to a California girl, but utterly believable. And without detracting from the flow of the narrative.
Another point. You want the Quoyle family to find the happiness they so clearly deserve. And so it's a pleasure throughout the book to see them finding it.
Thanks Sophie, for the recommendation!
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YAAAAAAAY i'm so glad you decided to read it. and that's so much what i loved about it-- how she just transports you there. people say that about every good book but this one really does it. and it's all the more amazing that it's entrancing since the setting is so gray, bleak, and the main character is really pretty banal and unimportant and the love interest is a plain, unremarkable woman... okay i'm making it sound horrible but it all just sweeps you off your feet... like the wind that wants to sweep that coastal house away!
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