Avis sur le produitThe Shipping News by Annie Proulx (1994, Trade Paperback)

Much better than the film and I thought that was good!

As with most books made into film, the book is by far better but in this instance I saw the film first and read the book recently as a selection from our book club. What I wasn't prepared for was to love the book so much I can barely remember any details of the film...and at the time I loved it too. There's no question as to why the author won such a prestigious award for this book. Her use of the English language to describe the experiences in this book is brilliant. I found myself completely wrapped up in the characters...the ones I liked and the ones I disliked so much so that I began thinking about them when I wasn't reading the book. Wondering what they were planning to do, I even found myself wanting to visit Newfoundland despite the bleak picture painted in the novel. I really cared about Quoyle, his family and his friends as though I knew him too. It's not often a book can draw me in so completely but what pleasure when it does!Lire l'avis complet...

The Shipping News

This is a fascinating story about an emotionally beaten down man who finds himself when he goes back to his family's birthplace of New Foundland. I saw the movie first (which by the way is excellent & visually stunning). The movie varies somewhat from the book. The book centers around Quoyle and his two daughters, as well as his Aunt and a host of other colorful characters.
The descriptions of New Foundland and it's people make you want to go over there and meet some of these strong and wonderful characters. Proulx has a way of really making all of her characters stand out in their own unique ways. The part that I found difficult to follow sometimes was her writing style. It was very choppy and hard to understand. It definitely took more than one read to figure out what was going on in the book so if you like straight forward simply written prose you might need help with this one.
I saw the movie and fell in love with the characters and the setting and wanted to read more about them so I bought the book. If you just try to get used to her writing style and stay with it. It's a thoroughly interesting read worth all the effort.Lire l'avis complet...

The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx

I have read a lot better books. I thought the story moved slowly and it was difficult to "see" the topography. Perhaps it is because I have never been to that part of the world. I was reading this for my book club discussion or I probably wouldn't have finished it. If a book doesn't "grab" be within 50 pages, I usually don't bother to read on. There are too many good books I feel I want to get through. I wouldn't really recommend this to an avid reader.Lire l'avis complet...

boring

If the characters were more likeable. They are not interesting and their fate is of little interest. However, the writing style was different and kept me reading a few pages more than I might have.

Achat vérifié :  Oui | État : occasion | Vendu par : second.sale

A good read requiring some patience

This was not the easiest book to get through but you finally are able to get a window into the characters' souls as the book progresses.

This book has excellent insight on human behavior.

Achat vérifié :  Oui | État : occasion | Vendu par : oneplanetbooks

Not My Favorite

I had seen a documentary on this author, and this was an award winning book. Her writing is just a little overly descriptive for me...I found myself skipping over all the wordiness. If you like detail, you will love this book.Lire l'avis complet...

Very fine novel

This one got a Pulitzer for old fashioned reasons. The novel deserved it. Excellent read. I purchased it for a friend because I had loaned out the only copy I had to someone else. Highly recommended if you enjoy quality fiction.Lire l'avis complet...