The Shipping News
(E. Annie Proulx)
The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx is a mystical journey that takes the reader from the obscure municipality of Mockingburg New York to the shores of Newfoundland. The reader follows Newspaperman Quoyle through the trials and tribulations of a tumultuous life.
Paradoxically, it is the death of a ne?er-do-well wife and an oppressive father that resurrects Quoyle?s life. It is Agnis Hamm, his aunt, who offers Virgilesque guidance along this Dantean journey.
Throughout the journey, we are introduced to the colorful ?Newfie? denizens, each with their own unique character. Proulx takes characterization a step further in that the landscape itself possesses characters. One is reminded of Thomas Hardy?s quasi-fictional region of Wessex.
The reader continually senses an intertwining of Ancient mysticism and divine Providence directing the fate of each character. This omniscient collective Intelligence sits just below the surface, lingering and offering the assurance that everything happens for a reason, and ours is not to question why.
Proulx strings us along from the depths of the Inferno to the higher reaches of Paradiso. It is in the latter realm that we discover the Beatrice-like imagery of Wavey Prowse. It is within her arms that Quoyle discovers the epiphany that Love ?sometimes occurs without pain or misery?.
The 2001 Miramax screen adaptation of The Shipping News is a good film, yet falls short in capturing the subtle nuance and haunting imagery that Proulx offers in her novel.
The Shipping News is a great suggestion for book clubs due to its depth and complexity. It offers many discussion points for members to ponder and share.
E. Annie Proulx lives between Vermont and Newfoundland. She has won several awards for her fiction including the PEN/Faulkner Award, Heartland Award, International Fiction Prize, National Book award and, last but not least, the Pulitzer Prize.
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