the shipping news book review ny times

Featured Author: Annie Proulx With News and Reviews From the Archives of The New York Times In This Feature Reviews of Annie Proulx's Earlier Books Articles About and by Annie Proulx Related Links Christopher Lehmann-Haupt Reviews 'Close Range' (May 12) Richard Eder Reviews 'Close Range' (May 23) Inspiration? Head Down the Back Road, and Stop for the Yard Sales by Annie Proulx (May 10) Jim McHugh/ The Associated Press Annie Proulx REVIEWS OF ANNIE PROULX'S EARLIER BOOKS: ' Heart Songs: And Other Stories ' (1989) "Proulx's stories are most compelling when they're rooted in a coarse rural sexuality. At these times, their sometimes enigmatic, often lyrical images seem to complement New England's lavish but barren beauty." ' Postcards ' (1992) ". . . a meaty stew of archetypal plots and characters, their juices mingled in defiance of convention. . . . Story makes this novel compelling; technique makes it beautiful." ' The Shipping News ' (1993) ". . . displays Ms. Proulx's surreal humor and her zest for the strange foibles of humanity. . . . Her inventive language is finely, if exhaustively, accomplished. . . . almost an encyclopedia of slang and lore." ' Accordion Crimes ' (1996) ". . . possesses the kind of sweep that Hollywood calls epic . . . The little green accordion is the slender thread that links the novel's eight sections . . . Proulx wrings glorious language from her characters' agony, yet in the end the spectacle is both repellent and trivial." ARTICLES ABOUT AND BY ANNIE PROULX: Shutout Ends: It's Men 12, Women 1 (April 21, 1993) The 13th annual PEN/ Faulkner Award for Fiction went to Proulx's "Postcards," marking the first time a woman had won the award. Book Notes: Prizes and Performance (December 22, 1993) This article examines the effects winning the 1993 National Book Award had on sales of "The Shipping News" and expectations for Proulx's next novel. Books on Top by Annie Proulx (May 26, 1994) In this essay, Proulx argues that reports of the death of books are greatly exagerrated. At Home With: E. Annie Proulx; At Midlife, a Novelist Is Born (June 23, 1994) In this profile, Proulx talks about discovering her calling as a novelist at the age of 50 and trying to find time to write after winning the Pulitzer Prize. Return to the Books Home Page

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A place for book reviews and recommendations.

Book Review: The Shipping News by Annie Proulx

The Shipping News, published in 1993, is a personal evolution story about Quoyle, who transforms from a downtrodden big oaf to a content, well-regarded man. It took awhile to get used to the writing style and I didn’t care for the first part of the book, but I ended up enjoying this novel.

This post may contain Amazon Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. (This in no way affects the honesty of my reviews!) All commissions will be donated to the ALS Association.

I read The Shipping News as part of the 2020 Thoughtful Reading Challenge . August’s challenge was to read a book set in a cold climate. The Shipping News’s Newfoundland setting certainly fit the bill and periodically made me forget it’s 90+ degrees outside!

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The novel begins with discouraging scenes about our hero, Quoyle. He was brought up to think he was worthless and lived the first part of his life living up to these low expectations. While living in New York, he stumbles into an on-again-off-again newspaper job. Although he isn’t a very successful journalist, he does have one gift – people openly tell their stories to him because he’s a good listener.

Also in the early part of the book, Quoyle stumbles into marriage with Petal, a lousy, no-good cheat who breaks Quoyle’s heart. The marriage ends catastrophically, but it produced two good things – Quoyle’s daughters, Bunny and Sunshine. Quoyle’s devotion to them is the first real sign there is more to Quoyle than a huge chin and a hulking body.

That’s why I didn’t care for the first part of the book. Quoyle is portrayed as little more than a sluggish, simple-minded animal – maybe a walrus or a manatee.

In retrospect, I see that the author represented him this way so that his eventual transformation would be more obvious and powerful. Under normal circumstances, I may have quit reading the book early on, but felt compelled by the reading challenge to soldier on. And I’m glad I did!

Quoyle’s redemption begins when his aunt suggests Quoyle and his two daughters move back to the long-abandoned family home in Newfoundland. Surprisingly, he’s able to land a job at the local weekly newspaper, the Grammy Bird, so they head north to start their new lives. The Gammy Bird is staffed with misfits (Quoyle found his people!) who produce a paper with strong tabloid tendencies. Quoyle is assigned to cover car crashes and news of which ships are in port. He really hits his stride while telling stories of unique ships and their crews.

St. John’s, Newfoundland. Source: Pixabay

Quoyle and his family find acceptance and friendship in their new home. Everyone begins to thrive, especially Quoyle, who turns out to be capable and multidimensional. He even finds love, once he figures out love isn’t supposed to be painful and obsessive. Redemption and belonging, at last.

Now let’s talk about the writing. Annie Proulx is a fantastic storyteller and she was able to showcase this skill with the stories other characters share with Quoyle (remember, he’s a good listener and people tell him everything). She also makes Newfoundland come alive with her descriptions of the weather and the sea. And her ability to develop characters is superb. I also like that she uses obscure words that my Kindle Reader dictionary didn’t recognize – ruvid, sumpy, roky, peckled, and craquelured, for example.

However, her writing style is unique and it was distracting at first. She often doesn’t use traditional sentence structure. Instead, it’s like reading a movie script writer setting the stage for the current scene. Here’s an example: “She was alone back there, the stunted trees pressing at the foot of the rock. A smell of resin and salt. Behind the house a ledge. A freshet plunged into a hole.” It’s actually a pretty efficient way to describe something and I got used to it after a while.

I really liked The Shipping News, especially its uplifting themes, likable characters, and great storytelling. But I’ll take a hard pass on visiting Newfoundland in the winter or ever embarking on a long sea journey!

Did you read a book set in a cold climate this month? Please share in the comments.

Reminder – September’s challenge is to read a fiction or nonfiction book set during World War II. Here are some recommendations:

All the Light We Cannot See The Secret of Santa Vittoria The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Happy reading!

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12 thoughts on “ Book Review: The Shipping News by Annie Proulx ”

The three WW2 books you suggested—the first and the third are terrific books that are on my favorites list. I have heard the middle one is also good but have not read it.

Like Liked by 1 person

Two of my favorites, as well!

I read this book a long time ago and remember liking it. After your excellent review, it has prompted me to get it for my Kindle and reread. Thank you. Joanne Runyon

I hope you enjoy as much the second time around!

Strange thing is that I own a copy of The Shipping News and I’ve never gotten around to reading it! Perhaps it’s time? But I’d forgotten about it, and located a different chilly book for this month.

I read Burial Rites by Hannah Kent, which was based on true events around the last woman executed in Iceland in just under two hundred years ago. I’ve been to Iceland, but didn’t get to explore it, nor did I know much of the history. However, I could somewhat imagine the crofts and farms and sea, since I know the chill of the wind that roams a land with few trees, having been to the northern isles of Scotland. It’s a bleak but beautiful book. I didn’t expect to be as drawn into the story as I was, especially knowing it would unlikely for the main character to survive (I don’t consider that a spoiler with a book like this), but I’d often imagined how hard life must have been on such farms in that time. I hadn’t thought about how crimes might be punished or how very intimate such a closed-in community would be, especially when the unexpected happens. It could be a hard read for those who prefer humor and happy endings, but it’s an excellent book for those who enjoy symbolism, which this book has throughout. I’ll be looking for Hannah Kent’s writing again.

I’m so glad you could participate this month! That book sounds compelling. It also sounds too dark for my current “light but smart” phase. 🙂 Maybe I’ll take a look at it in the Spring.

Happy to! It’s been a strange year here. Yes, it’s a bit dark, but still an excellent read. 🙂

I really liked The Shipping News. As you describe, Proulx’s writing style was a challenge at first. Very stark, succinct, and direct. But after reading how she describes the weather and the seas of Newfoundland, the writing really seemed to fit. I think that was my favorite part of the book – how her description of the weather and seas made me feel. It was a perfect read to transport me away from the actual temperatures outside.

I really enjoyed the story but must admit, I wasn’t real clear on the “resurrection” towards the end. I should probably dwell upon it a bit longer but hey, I’m not really that complex. Quoyle and the aunt were both great characters. Interesting that he was so likable but really didn’t say much. There really is something to be said for great listeners.

The book had a feeling of foreboding for me – didn’t think things would end well for Quoyle and it would involve the ocean and his boat. Again, a testament to Proulx’s writing that the novel didn’t turn out as i expected.

I have read a couple of other books by Michael Crummy who also portrays the people and weather of Newfoundland in a similar way. I’m intrigued and now want to go for a visit – but in the summer of course…

I read The Shipping News as part of a Book Club decades ago – thanks for a great reminder of a very fine story. As a writer – more now, than then – I love the idea of writing as an instrument of redemption! And your walrus picture made me laugh – that’s exactly how I pictured Quoyle early in the book – hah!

I’ve become more interested in Newfoundland since seeing the musical Come From Away, which portrays a group of very interesting and caring characters the week after 9/11. With Broadway shows closed for the time being, I highly recommend the cast album – which pretty much tells the story!

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I could not get through this book. After fifty pages of plodding prose, uninteresting characters and turgid plot, I just stopped reading and tossed the book.

I didn’t like the first part of the book, either. Fortunately, it got better as it went along. 🙂

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THE SHIPPING NEWS

by E. Annie Proulx ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 2, 1993

Life was hard for Proulx's people in Heart Songs (1988) and Postcards (1991), and it's no easier for them in this dreary second novel, as they battle the elements (and their private demons) in Newfoundland. Front and center is Quoyle, an unprepossessing hulk with a "monstrous chin," who goes from a loveless childhood in upstate New York to a half-loveless marriage to Petal Bear, a sharp-tongued bimbo who gives him two daughters (Bunny and Sunshine) and six years of suffering that Quoyle (still hopelessly smitten) gladly absorbs, not knowing that life can offer anything else. Then Petal is killed in a car accident, and Quoyle's Aunt Agnis, who has all the gumption her lummox of a nephew lacks, moves the family to their ancestral home in Newfoundland to start a new life. It's not easy; their house, perched grimly on a rock, is uninhabitable in winter, "mean and hopeless" year-round. But Quoyle, a "third- rate newspaperman," is hired by the paper to cover car-wrecks and shipping news and is soon writing zippy columns, an improbable late-bloomer at 36; he also courts, ever so slowly, a widow called Wavey, who clings as foolishly to the sainted memory of her husband (a vicious tomcat) as Quoyle does to that of Petal. Proulx pumps up this low-key material with a splash of local color (old salts in the newsroom), a pinch of melodrama (headless corpse washes ashore), and a rattle of skeletons (Quoyle's father sexually abused sister Agnis). Proulx does okay by Newfoundland (though she won't help tourism any), but Quoyle, the poor turkey, is a fatal self- inflicted wound.

Pub Date: March 2, 1993

ISBN: 0-684-19337-X

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Scribner

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1992

LITERARY FICTION

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edited by E. Annie Proulx

by E. Annie Proulx

HOUSE OF LEAVES

by Mark Z. Danielewski ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 6, 2000

The story's very ambiguity steadily feeds its mysteriousness and power, and Danielewski's mastery of postmodernist and...

An amazingly intricate and ambitious first novel - ten years in the making - that puts an engrossing new spin on the traditional haunted-house tale.

Texts within texts, preceded by intriguing introductory material and followed by 150 pages of appendices and related "documents" and photographs, tell the story of a mysterious old house in a Virginia suburb inhabited by esteemed photographer-filmmaker Will Navidson, his companion Karen Green (an ex-fashion model), and their young children Daisy and Chad.  The record of their experiences therein is preserved in Will's film The Davidson Record - which is the subject of an unpublished manuscript left behind by a (possibly insane) old man, Frank Zampano - which falls into the possession of Johnny Truant, a drifter who has survived an abusive childhood and the perverse possessiveness of his mad mother (who is institutionalized).  As Johnny reads Zampano's manuscript, he adds his own (autobiographical) annotations to the scholarly ones that already adorn and clutter the text (a trick perhaps influenced by David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest ) - and begins experiencing panic attacks and episodes of disorientation that echo with ominous precision the content of Davidson's film (their house's interior proves, "impossibly," to be larger than its exterior; previously unnoticed doors and corridors extend inward inexplicably, and swallow up or traumatize all who dare to "explore" their recesses).  Danielewski skillfully manipulates the reader's expectations and fears, employing ingeniously skewed typography, and throwing out hints that the house's apparent malevolence may be related to the history of the Jamestown colony, or to Davidson's Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of a dying Vietnamese child stalked by a waiting vulture.  Or, as "some critics [have suggested,] the house's mutations reflect the psychology of anyone who enters it."

Pub Date: March 6, 2000

ISBN: 0-375-70376-4

Page Count: 704

Publisher: Pantheon

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2000

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by Mark Z. Danielewski

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NORMAL PEOPLE

by Sally Rooney ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2019

Absolutely enthralling. Read it.

A young Irish couple gets together, splits up, gets together, splits up—sorry, can't tell you how it ends!

Irish writer Rooney has made a trans-Atlantic splash since publishing her first novel, Conversations With Friends , in 2017. Her second has already won the Costa Novel Award, among other honors, since it was published in Ireland and Britain last year. In outline it's a simple story, but Rooney tells it with bravura intelligence, wit, and delicacy. Connell Waldron and Marianne Sheridan are classmates in the small Irish town of Carricklea, where his mother works for her family as a cleaner. It's 2011, after the financial crisis, which hovers around the edges of the book like a ghost. Connell is popular in school, good at soccer, and nice; Marianne is strange and friendless. They're the smartest kids in their class, and they forge an intimacy when Connell picks his mother up from Marianne's house. Soon they're having sex, but Connell doesn't want anyone to know and Marianne doesn't mind; either she really doesn't care, or it's all she thinks she deserves. Or both. Though one time when she's forced into a social situation with some of their classmates, she briefly fantasizes about what would happen if she revealed their connection: "How much terrifying and bewildering status would accrue to her in this one moment, how destabilising it would be, how destructive." When they both move to Dublin for Trinity College, their positions are swapped: Marianne now seems electric and in-demand while Connell feels adrift in this unfamiliar environment. Rooney's genius lies in her ability to track her characters' subtle shifts in power, both within themselves and in relation to each other, and the ways they do and don't know each other; they both feel most like themselves when they're together, but they still have disastrous failures of communication. "Sorry about last night," Marianne says to Connell in February 2012. Then Rooney elaborates: "She tries to pronounce this in a way that communicates several things: apology, painful embarrassment, some additional pained embarrassment that serves to ironise and dilute the painful kind, a sense that she knows she will be forgiven or is already, a desire not to 'make a big deal.' " Then: "Forget about it, he says." Rooney precisely articulates everything that's going on below the surface; there's humor and insight here as well as the pleasure of getting to know two prickly, complicated people as they try to figure out who they are and who they want to become.

Pub Date: April 16, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-984-82217-8

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Hogarth

Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019

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The Shipping News: Concluding questions

Towards the beginning of our investigation of The Shipping News, we were told about the end. Pamish wrote: "Probably the best closing sentence ever written. Save it up."

SignificantOther agreed: "This book has one of the best and most beautifully-written last paragraphs of all the novels I know."

At this point – spoiler alert! – if you haven't yet finished the book, you should probably look away now. As Pamish and SignificantOther suggest, this paragraph is so good it's worth quoting in full:

For if Jack Buggit could escape from the pickle jar, if a bird with a broken neck could fly away, what else might be possible? Water may be older than light, diamonds crack in hot goat's blood, mountaintops give off cold fire, forests appear in mid-ocean, it may happen that a crab is caught with the shadow of a hand on its back, that the wind be imprisoned in a bit of knotted string. And it may be that love sometimes occurs without pain or misery.

What do you make of that? Even as I typed the passage out I changed my mind again. I remembered, for instance, that the "bird with broken neck" earlier on in the story didn't really fly away. I also started feeling sure that water can't ever be older than light. This time around, the words struck me as pessimistic. Bleak, even. Which is strange, because the first time I read them, I thought that Proulx had copped for the happy ending. For a brief moment, I felt almost as let down as I did when staggering to the end of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. It seemed to me there was something untrue there, some unwarranted jauntiness. It was only after a few moments reflection that it began to dawn on me that she might be saying that Quoyle's chances for painless happiness are slim. That it would be, in fact, miraculous if he escaped further trials. And that, rather beautifully, Proulx seems to have left it down to her readers to decide whether or not they believe in such miracles.

Later, when I listened to Proulx give a rare interview about The Shipping News with the BBC's James Naughtie , another possibility presented itself. Provocatively, the author claimed that this passage merely gives "the illusion of the happy ending. I wrote the book to deceive the reader. It's a happy ending that isn't really happy … "

So the whole thing is smoke and mirrors? Proulx knew all along that Quoyle was still bound to suffer? It's a possible reading. But at this stage, I'm afraid I have to bring in Barthes and the death of the author . Proulx may have had these dark intentions (just as she may also have simply said she did on a whim, as interview-subjects sometimes do), but ultimately that might not matter. If we accept that we shouldn't impose a limit on the novel, and that what the author meant and what the book says are not necessarily the same thing, Quoyle can be set free. If most readers decide that he is happy, well, he probably is. In fact, it seems to me that the fate of our hero is in your hands. Do you see him sailing contentedly into the early winter sunset of Newfoundland? Or do you see rough seas ahead? How did those final – lovely – words strike you?

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The Newfoundland of The Shipping News – in pictures

The Shipping News: Proulx's Newfoundland

The Shipping News: Moderate or good?

The Shipping News: Further reading

Reading group: The Shipping News by Annie Proulx

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Submitting a book for review, write the editor, you are here:, the shipping news.

From the get-go, Quoyle is a loser. Not only is he physically unattractive with a "great damp loaf of a body," but he is also not too bright. His father despises him, and his brother constantly taunts him. He drifts from job to job, never able to keep one for more than a few months. He gets married, only to have his wife sell their two daughters to a child pornographer and leave him.

THE SHIPPING NEWS describes Quoyle's psychological and spiritual rebirth. Left with two children to raise after he rescues them, and no job, he returns to Newfoundland, the land of his ancestors. A sometime newspaper reporter, he gets a job reporting on shipping news with a local publication, and becomes a minor celebrity. Gradually he is transformed into a loving father and a valued neighbor.

The novel is, by turns, heartbreaking and comic. The story of Quoyle's early life will bring tears to your eyes, but as the story spins on, you will find yourself wiping away tears of laughter instead of sorrow. Proulx brings the town of Newfoundland and its Killick-Claw residents to life with wit and humor.

THE SHIPPING NEWS won the National Book Award in 1993, and the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1994.  It is beautifully written --- Proulx prose comes very close to poetry at times --- and chronicles a compelling story of love and renewal.

Reviewed by Judith Handschuh on January 23, 2011

The Shipping News by Annie Proulx

• Publication Date: June 1, 1994
• Genres: Fiction , Literary Fiction
• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Scribner
• ISBN-10: 0671510053
• ISBN-13: 9780671510053

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Shipping News : Book summary and reviews of Shipping News by Annie Proulx

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Shipping News

by Annie Proulx

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Published May 1993 352 pages Genre: Literary Fiction Publication Information

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About this book

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Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, The Shipping News is a celebration of Annie Proulx's genius for storytelling and her vigorous contribution to the art of the novel. Quoyle, a third-rate newspaper hack, with a "head shaped like a crenshaw, no neck, reddish hair...features as bunched as kissed fingertips," is wrenched violently out of his workaday life when his two-timing wife meets her just deserts. An aunt convinces Quoyle and his two emotionally disturbed daughters to return with her to the starkly beautiful coastal landscape of their ancestral home in Newfoundland. Here, on desolate Quoyle's Point, in a house empty except for a few mementos of the family's unsavory past, the battered members of three generations try to cobble up new lives. Newfoundland is a country of coast and cove where the mercury rarely rises above 70 degrees, the local culinary delicacy is cod cheeks, and it's easier to travel by boat and snowmobile than on anything with wheels. In this harsh place of cruel storms, a collapsing fishery, and chronic unemployment, the aunt sets up as a yacht upholsterer in nearby Killick-Claw, and Quoyle finds a job reporting the shipping news for the local weekly, the Gammy Bird (a paper that specializes in sexual-abuse stories and grisly photos of car accidents). As the long winter closes its jaws of ice, each of the Quoyles confronts private demons, reels from catastrophe to minor triumph - in the company of the obsequious Mavis Bangs; Diddy Shovel the strongman; drowned Herald Prowse; cane-twirling Beety; Nutbeem, who steals foreign news from the radio; a demented cousin the aunt refuses to recognize; the much-zippered Alvin Yark; silent Wavey; and old Billy Pretty, with his bag of secrets. By the time of the spring storms Quoyle has learned how to gut cod, to escape from a pickle jar, and to tie a true lover's knot.

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"She is in her element both when creating haunting images ... and when lyrically rendering a routine of gray, cold days filled with cold cheeks, squidburgers, fried bologna and the sea." - Publishers Weekly "Memorable characters--gay aunt Agnis, difficult daughter Bunny, new love interest Wavey, many colorful locals in their new hometown--combine with dark stories of the Quoyle family's past and the staccato, often subjectless or verbless sentences (bound to make English teachers cringe) to create a powerful whole." - Library Journal "The writing is charged with sardonic wit - alive, funny, a little threatening; packed with brilliantly original images...and, now and then, a sentence that simply takes your breath away." - USA Today "Annie Proulx's stunning, big-hearted The Shipping News thaws the frozen lives of its characters and warms readers." - San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle

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Annie Proulx Author Biography

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Annie Proulx is the author of nine books, including the novels The Shipping News and Barkskins , and the story collection Close Range . Her many honors include a Pulitzer Prize, a National Book Award, the Irish Times International Fiction Prize, and a PEN/Faulkner award. Her story "Brokeback Mountain," which originally appeared in The New Yorker , was made into an Academy Award–winning film. Fen, Bog, and Swamp is her second work of nonfiction. She lives in New Hampshire.

Name Pronunciation Annie Proulx: Proo (rhymes with new)

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From the get-go, Quoyle is a loser. Not only is he physically unattractive with a "great damp loaf of a body," but he is also not too bright. His father despises him, and his brother constantly taunts him. He drifts from job to job, never able to keep one for more than a few months. He gets married, only to have his wife sell their two daughters to a child pornographer and leave him.

THE SHIPPING NEWS describes Quoyle's psychological and spiritual rebirth. Left with two children to raise after he rescues them, and no job, he returns to Newfoundland, the land of his ancestors. A sometime newspaper reporter, he gets a job reporting on shipping news with a local publication, and becomes a minor celebrity. Gradually he is transformed into a loving father and a valued neighbor.

The novel is, by turns, heartbreaking and comic. The story of Quoyle's early life will bring tears to your eyes, but as the story spins on, you will find yourself wiping away tears of laughter instead of sorrow. Proulx brings the town of Newfoundland and its Killick-Claw residents to life with wit and humor.

THE SHIPPING NEWS won the National Book Award in 1993, and the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1994.  It is beautifully written --- Proulx prose comes very close to poetry at times --- and chronicles a compelling story of love and renewal.

Reviewed by Judith Handschuh on January 23, 2011

The Shipping News by Annie Proulx

• Publication Date: June 1, 1994
• Genres: Fiction , Literary Fiction
• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Scribner
• ISBN-10: 0671510053
• ISBN-13: 9780671510053

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The Shipping News

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• Proulx describes Quoyle as "a great damp loaf of a body." What kind of man is Quoyle? How does Proulx's sublime, comic style make you feel about him?
• When Quoyle writes for the Mockingburg Record he never seems to understand the dynamics of journalism, yet in writing "The Shipping News" he transforms The Gammy Bird and eventually becomes managing editor of the paper. Discuss some of the other changes Quoyle experiences from the beginning of the novel to the end.
• As Quoyle arrives in Newfoundland, he hears much of his family's past. In fact, there is an old relative, "some kind of fork kin," still alive in Newfoundland. Why does Quoyle avoid Nolan -- seem angry at the old man from the start? Is the reason as simple as Quoyle denying where he came from, especially after learning the details of his father's relationship with the aunt?
• Proulx tells us the aunt is a lesbian, yet never makes a specific issue out of the aunt's sexual orientation. Does this fact add dimension to the story for you? Does it add to the aunt's character? We, as readers, assume that characters are heterosexual without needing to hear specifically about their sexual life. Does the matter-of-course way Proulx treats the aunt's sexuality help make the reader a less judgmental critic?
• Discuss Quoyle's relationship with Petal Bear. Can you justify his feelings for her? Even after her death, she continues to have a strong hold on him, and her memory threatens to squelch the potential of his feeling for Wavey Prowse. Is this because Quoyle doesn't understand love without pain? Both Quoyle and Wavey have experienced abusive relationships previously. How do they treat each other?
• Newfoundland is more than the setting for this story, it is a dreary yet engaging character onto itself. Does the cold weather and the rough life add to your enjoyment of the book?
• Do you think the chapter headings from The Ashley Book of Knots, The Mariner's Dictionary, and Quipus and Witches' Knots add to the atmosphere of the book? Did their humor illustrate some of Proulx's points, or did they simplify some of her issues? Notice especially the headings for chapters 2, 4, 28, 32, 33, and 34.

About The Author

Annie Proulx is the author of eleven books, including the novels  The Shipping News  and  Barkskins , and the story collection  Close Range . Her many honors include a Pulitzer Prize, a National Book Award, the Irish Times International Fiction Prize, and a PEN/Faulkner award. Her story “Brokeback Mountain,” which originally appeared in  The New Yorker , was made into an Academy Award–winning film.  Fen, Bog, and Swamp  is her second work of nonfiction. She lives in New Hampshire. 

Product Details

• Publisher: Scribner (June 1, 1994)
• Length: 368 pages
• ISBN13: 9780671510053

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Raves and Reviews

Stephen Jones Chicago Tribune The Shipping News is that rare creation, a lyric page-turner.

Bruce Allen USA Today The writing is charged with sardonic wit -- alive, funny, a little threatening; packed with brilliantly original images...and, now and then, a sentence that simply takes your breath away.

Roz Spafford San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle Annie Proulx's stunning, big-hearted The Shipping News thaws the frozen lives of its characters and warms readers.

Awards and Honors

• Pulitzer Prize
• National Book Award Winner
• NAPPA Honors Award Winner

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Shipping News

Annie proulx, e. annie proulx. scribner book company, $25 (320pp) isbn 978-0-684-19337-3.

Reviewed on: 03/01/1993

Genre: Fiction

Downloadable Audio - 978-1-4423-4259-0

Hardcover - 352 pages - 978-0-684-85791-6

Hardcover - 443 pages - 978-1-56895-069-3

Mass Market Paperbound - 368 pages - 978-0-7432-2540-3

Paperback - 368 pages - 978-0-671-51005-3

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The Shipping News

2001, Drama, 1h 51m

What to know

Critics Consensus

Though solidly made and acted, The Shipping News is rather heavy-handed and dull, especially given the nature of its protagonist. Read critic reviews

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The shipping news   photos.

Traces one man's extraordinary journey toward self -discovery when he returns to his ancestral home on the coast of Newfoundland. After the death of his estranged wife, Quoyle's fortunes begin to change when his long-lost aunt convinces him and his daughter to head north. Now, in a place where life is as rough as the weather and secrets are as vast as the ocean, Quoyle lands a job as a reporter for the local paper. In the course of his new career he uncovers some dark family secrets.

Rating: R (Sexuality|Disturbing Images|Some Language)

Genre: Drama

Original Language: English

Director: Lasse Hallström

Producer: Irwin Winkler , Linda Goldstein Knowlton , Leslie Holleran

Writer: Robert Nelson Jacobs , E. Annie Proulx

Release Date (Theaters): Jan 11, 2002  wide

Release Date (Streaming): Nov 8, 2016

Box Office (Gross USA): $11.4M

Runtime: 1h 51m

Distributor: Miramax Films

Production Co: Miramax Films

Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital

Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

Cast & Crew

Kevin Spacey

Julianne Moore

Wavey Prowse

Cate Blanchett

Pete Postlethwaite

Tert. X. Card

Scott Glenn

Jack Buggit

B. Beaufield Nutbeem

Gordon Pinsent

Billy Pretty

Dennis Buggit

Bayonet Melville

Jeannetta Arnette

Silver Melville

EMS Officer

Alyssa Gainer

Kaitlyn Gainer

Lauren Gainer

John Dunsworth

Will McAllister

Herry Prowse

Marc Lawrence

Cousin Nolan

Nancy Beatty

Mavis Bangs

Lasse Hallström

Irwin Winkler

Linda Goldstein Knowlton

Leslie Holleran

Robert Nelson Jacobs

Screenwriter

Andrew Mondshein

Film Editing

Second Unit Director

Oliver Stapleton

Cinematographer

David Gropman

Production Design

Renee Ehrlich Kalfus

Costume Design

Christopher Young

Original Music

Bob Weinstein

Executive Producer

Harvey Weinstein

Meryl Poster

Diana Pokorny

Co-Producer

E. Annie Proulx

News & Interviews for The Shipping News

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Trailer Bulletin: An Unfinished Life

Critic Reviews for The Shipping News

Audience reviews for the shipping news.

When you look at the talent who were drawn to this film, you would assume a great concept and film. Sadly this film is a missed opportunity. Kevin Spacey in my opinion is wasted and not the correct actor for the film, he never looks or feels comfortable in the lead. I wanted to enjoy this film as Hallstrom had made The Cider House Rules, which is an incredible film. The film is beautiful to look at and the township is amazing, but as an overall film this suffers from odd choices. 16/04/2019

Clearly this film isn't about ordering stuff online, because I don't know about you, but I wouldn't trust a package tracker to give me accurate shipping news that much more than I'd trust the tabloids to give me any kind of accurate news. I'd stare that you can cue the snare drum, but that joke was admittedly so lame that I really wouldn't trust people with sticks that they could use to either play a snare drum or beat me. Seriously though, folks, this film is actually about a reporter traveling to another country and finding love, as well as himself, as he finds new inspiration in a new land, and no, I can't believe they've allowed that specific type of story to become clichéd either. Well, I reckon a story is officially clichéd once Lasse Hallström interprets it, because as much as I like a fair deal of Hallström's films, he has a tradition of taking on stories that are perhaps too traditional for their own good, and make no mistake, this is definitely a traditional Lasse Hallström film. Speaking of surprising clichés, Hallström's project picking seems to be heavily based on which story has the silliest character names, although that might simply be because he's Swedish. Nevertheless, if you thought that Grape made for a weird surname in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape", here you've got Kevin Spacey as Quoyle, Judi Dench as Agnis Hamm, Cate Blanchett as Petal, Pete Postlethwaite as Tert Card, and, of course, Julianne Moore as Wavey Prowse, with a small appearance by Rhys Ifans as Beaufield Nutbeem. Well, to be fair, a lot of this film's characters are Irish something fierce, but that doesn't make the film any less decent, as opposed to certain other aspects. Lasse Hallström always had a taste in drama's with plenty of lighthearted elements, but with this film, he really lets the tightness of his grip on tonal dynamicity slip, as plenty of lighter, almost comedic aspects go punctuated a touch too firmly by dramatic, maybe even tense highlights, resulting in near-glaring tonal inconsistencies that are much more recurring than they should be, and shake tonal impact, with the help of something of a consistency heavy-handedness. Colorfully drawn enough for you to bond reasonably comfortably with the characters and this narrative, this story is still questionably drawn, even with its characterization, which goes plagued with overblown character traits and plot happenings that are sometimes too far-fetched to buy into, particularly when they touch the film's more dramatic and thematic elements, thinning subtlety to a considerable degree. The film has been criticized as rather heavy-handed in its script, and yes, I do indeed agree, and Hallström's role in the storytelling doesn't exactly make things any more realized, as it sometimes takes on the director's trademark atmospheric sentimentality to make the scripted histrionics all the more glaring. Of course, when Hallström signature sentimentality doesn't kick in as a plague on intrigue, he's plaguing intrigue with his signature atmospheric cold spells, established through a certain quiet thoughtfulness that is usually easier to get past in Hallström's other, more entertaining dry efforts, but actually kind of dulling here. For this, we have to place yet more blame on screenwriter Robert Nelson Jacobs, whose efforts are plenty of clever, but not exactly consistent with the material that Hallström usually draws on with his dry directorial thoughtfulness, going bloated with aimless filler and even excess material that bloats the narrative to an unfocused point whose aimlessness only grows more and more distancing the more storytelling meanders. The film starts out pretty promising as yet another thoroughly endearing effort by Hallström, but once it gets going, it goes too slow for comfort, gradually losing momentum under the weight of aimlessness, unevenness and heavy-handedness, until the final product finds itself wearing pretty deeply into underwhelmingness. The film falls quite a distance shy of what it could have been, yet what it ultimately is is an endearing dramedy, even stylistically speaking. Composed by the popular Christopher Young, this film's score, when actually played upon, is usually a touch too minimalist to be all that exciting, and when it does pick up, it falls into conventions, yet there's still something very tasteful about Young's atmospheric, somewhat celtic styles, which capture the drly colorful tone of the film about as much as often flat, but just as often nifty cinematography. Even style kind of loses momentum after a while, possibly because it's never truly outstanding enough for you to not gradually get used to it, but there's no denying that there is aesthetic appeal to draw you in, even if it's not as important of a compliment to the themes of this near-grimy dramedy as, say, the script. Robert Nelson Jacobs' script is instrumental in bringing about the film's downfall into underwhelmingness, because where Lasse Hallström's direction, at least at this point, was usually met with enough material for his thoughtfulness and sentimentality to be generally pretty effective, tonal and narrative structuring issues to Jacobs' efforts go a long way in defusing the final product's momentum, and yet, there's still plenty of wit to endear you to the script, which is at its most endearing when it's at its most realized with characterization. Needless to say, when these highlights in material kick in, that's where highlights in Hallström's direction comes in, with pacing and sentimental thoughtfulness that, upon finding material to draw upon, compels as a punctuation to a reasonable degree of entertainment value which Hallström establishes through subtle plays on style and wit. I'm not saying that this film's story is all that meaty, but there's still something missing out of the interpretation of this traditional tale regarding finding new depths in yourself in a new setting, and yet, when inspiration meets ambition, the film endears as a light character study, anchored by worthy character portrayals. Once again, Hallström assembles a solid cast of respectable talents, every one of whom has only so much to work with, but delivers nonetheless, at least on charisma, particularly within Judi Dench, Julianne Moore, the quickly dismissed Cate Blanchett, and, of course, leading man Kevin Spacey, whose trademark subdued charm, while too formulaic as part of a Kevin Spacey performance, is open enough for Spacey to serve as an audience avatar, but tight enough to make Spacey an endearing lead by his own right, especially when occasions of actually pretty powerful emoting kick in. I don't know if this film can afford to have all that subdued of a lead, as most everything else is too subdued for its own good, yet just as Spacey practically compels with his quiet charm, Hallström endears with his own somber charm, which is realized enough to entertain adequately, with dramatic highlights, however limited they may be. Once the docks are reached, the final product sinks into underwhelmingness under the weight of tonal unevenness, heavy-handedness, a certain atmospheric coldness, and much meandering plotting, but through a tasteful score and visual style, clever writing, thoughtful direction and charismatic performances, "The Shipping News" charms as a fair and sometimes effective, if rather forgettable affair. 2.5/5 - Fair

A congenital looser named Quoyle, after having dealt with multiple blows in life, moves with his daughter to his ancestral homeland, Newfoundland, at the urging of his long-lost Aunt, Agnis (Judi Dench). There he befriends a serene single mother, Wavey Prowse(Julianne Moore) and gradually finds himself accepted into that remote community. Once the story makes the transition to the snowy coasts of Newfoundland, I found myself elevated to a whole another level of movie experience. Maybe it has to do something with the going-back-to-roots premise of the movie. Photographic grandeur of the breathtaking landscapes plays its part in that feeling too. Movie features powerful performances from a clutch of well recognized talents. The simple story can basically be described as one about our search for a place in the world and about coming to grips with the past. Lass Hallstrom, who gave us "What's eating Gilbert Grape", leaves you with a similar experience when you're through with this movie.

Not a Corvette this film but rather a stationwagon with room for many (and their assorted baggage) and not a film for everyone, this story of a family returning to it's small town roots I found hypnotic. It's my favorite Spacey film, instantly, Dench was solid as an oak, and Julianna Moore did not offend me for a change.

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Invisible man: The media try to rehabilitate Christine Blasey Ford while ignoring the full story

Alexandra Jacobs is longing for me.

The New York Times book reviewer wrote this in her recent review of One Way Back, the new “memoir” by Christine Blasey Ford. Ford is famously the woman who, in 2018, accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault in 1982. Ford also claimed that I was in the room when it happened. Brett and I were friends in high school in the early 1980s.

Ford’s allegation was never proven. She couldn’t even say the place where it allegedly happened and kept changing the year. It was Kafkaesque, the kind of thing, as Brit Hume tweeted, that “never should have happened in America.”

Writing in the New York Times about the new book, Jacobs says that one “longs for more about Mark Judge” in its pages.

Well, Alexandra, that’s easy to fix.

You can review my book. The Devil’s Triangle: Mark Judge vs. the New American Stasi was published two years ago — it is my version of the nightmare of 2018. I reveal the opposition research, extortion, and even a honey trap that were all deployed in an effort to destroy me or make me lie about my friend. 

The Devil’s Triangle has not been reviewed in the New York Times, the Washington Post, or the Wall Street Journal. If Alexandra Jacobs is longing for me, she could do it herself. She will get the entire picture.

Of course, she won’t like what’s in there. On the night of Sept. 14, 2018, I got a call from Ronan Farrow, then at the New Yorker. My high school friend Brett Kavanaugh had been nominated for the Supreme Court on July 9. Farrow was calling to tell me that Brett and I had been named in a letter claiming “sexual misconduct in the 1980s.” Farrow could not tell me who the accuser was or where it allegedly happened — only that the incident took place “sometime in the 1980s.”

I knew I was no longer in America but in communist East Germany during the Cold War. I was guilty until proven innocent.

One thing that no one doing soft-focus interviews with Ford will ask is why she didn’t address this all in private. She could have avoided the trauma of the whole thing — as could I. As I recently told a reporter with Fox Nation, Ford could have contacted me any time in the summer of 2018. I would have gladly spoken to her, her parents, the police, anybody. When asked why she didn’t do so, Ford told Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post that she “thought about contacting Mark Judge but didn’t know how.”

I’m a journalist who has lived in Washington his entire life. She didn’t know how? I wish I could say I was surprised that Marcus believed this.

Ford was working with Washington Post “reporter” Emma Brown on a story about Ford’s allegations from as early as July 9. On July 10, Brown sent me a friendly sounding email asking about what it was like hiking to school with Kavanaugh at Georgetown Prep. No mention of Ford or an alleged assault. 

In her explosive piece published months later, on Sept. 16, 2018, Brown left out Leland Keyser, Ford’s close friend. Ford claimed Keyser had been at the party where the assault took place. Keyser denied it, and Brown left this out of the story.

Ford was also using an opposition researcher. According to the book The Education of Brett Kavanaugh by New York Times reporters Kate Kelly and Robin Pogrebin, Ford’s friend Keith Koegler “spent many hours [in the summer of 2018] poring over news coverage of the nomination process, biographical information about Kavanaugh, and writings and videos produced by Mark Judge. In combing through YouTube, articles, and social networks, Koegler had learned more about the house parties … and the lexicon of 1980s Georgetown Prep than he had ever thought he would care to know.”

The media, the politicians, and the opposition researchers (the "Devil’s Triangle" of my book title) had set things up. The next step: hit me with an unexpected allegation (Farrow) and get me to start talking. Then entangle my life, which included a struggle with alcoholism when I was younger, with the life of Kavanaugh, who had a much different journey than I. 

It was a hit using my life to take my friend down, even if he had nothing to do with my struggles. Reading accounts of Ford’s behavior, it becomes clear why she never went to the police or released her therapist’s notes (which never mention Kavanaugh) and why she kept asking for delays, including an absurd claim about a fear of flying. She was waiting for me to crack.

Ford is now in the media talking about her trauma and saying she was “naive” about all the damage she would cause. Incredibly, she continues to make accusations against Kavanaugh. But she claims to have no idea where the alleged assault took place or how she got home from the party in question.

I don’t have Ford’s “teams” of handlers (as Jacobs calls them in her New York Times review). I’m also not charging $50,000 to give a speech, as Ford now is. All I’m left with are nightmares, trauma, and poverty. But I do have my book.

Yet to the media, I am an invisible man. 

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM RESTORING AMERICA

Mark Judge is an award-winning journalist and the author of  The Devil’s Triangle: Mark Judge vs. the New American Stasi . He is also the author of God and Man at Georgetown Prep, Damn Senators, and A Tremor of Bliss.