the shipping news

I just finished the novel The Shipping News by Annie Proulx. It was a decent novel -- a nice, relaxing book to read in the evenings. The novel is set in Newfoundland and it is powerfully shaped by the landscape, wind and sea. As a showcase of Newfoundland life, the novel can be a bit slow at some points -- meandering fishermen's tales and detailed descriptions of ordinary events.

The main character, Quoyle, is a large, self-conscious man with a jutting chin that he constantly covers with his hand. When his wife Petal dies he allows an elderly aunt to coax him to move (along with his two daughters, Bunny and Sunshine) back to their ancestral home in Newfoundland. I'm glad Petal died early on in the book -- I don't think I could stand very much of her! She was a materialistic, cheating wife who took advantage of Quoyle's innocent devotion to her.

One of the threads in the story is how Quoyle slowly develops a relationship with a Newfoundland woman named Wavey. He questions whether or not he can ever love anyone besides Petal. Everything about Wavey is a sharp contrast to his first wife.

"[Quoyle] was wondering if love came in other colours than the basic black of none and the red heat of obsession?" (309)

By the end of the novel, I find myself attached to the different characters Proulx invented. I believe them -- they're flawed, they don't always make sense, they are insecure, and they are all shaped by layers of their own pasts.

Warning: In a simple, unflinching way this novel looks at long-buried family secrets, social problems such as incest, and the pain of adultery.