The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
Ormeau Library Reading Group is very pleased to recommend ‘The Shipping News’ by Annie Proulx. Although many of us had read the novel when it was first published in the 1990s, we wanted to revisit it to see if we enjoyed it as much second time round. Fortunately we did! The novel tells the story of the unfortunate Quoyle who is a disappointment to his father and the wife he worships. Facing tragedy and with few prospects, he moves with his aunt and two young daughters to the isolated and fog ridden island of Newfoundland. While attempting to restore the derelict family home, Quoyle swops one set of misery for another. Taking a position as a journalist responsible for the Shipping news, we follow his travails and that of his fellow islanders as he attempts to make a home in the community. This novel is atmospheric with the harsh landscape providing a brooding backdrop throughout. Quoyle’s struggle to repair the troubles of the past is a universal theme everyone can relate to. Definitely worth a first or second read.
Submitted by Ormeau Road Library Reading Group
