Rating: 
Summary: My view on 'The News'
Review: With the release of the film version of The Shipping News, I was compelled to read the novel. When I discovered it was the receiver the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, among other accolades, I determined that it must be an excellent read. I found the novel well-written, and very creative, but somewhat difficult to discern. The Shipping News is stylistically difficult. I was compelled to continue reading to find out what would happen, to discover what the movie would be about. It wasn't until the last chapter that the author allows for a dramatic climax. There are interesting parts in the story, but it flowed poorly.
I enjoyed the novel, I would give it 3 and a half stars if that were an option, however, was not as pleased with it as I had expected to be. It was certainly a work of art, compellingly executed, but the writing was not of a style that I particularly enjoy. The author had difficulty capturing my imagination, and I found some difficulty in visualizing the events as they occurred. Overall, I find the novel is worth the read. I wouldn't rate it as a favorite, but it could be yours.
Rating: 
Summary: girl nearly shoots herself, throws book in corner first
Review: after finishing and thoroughly enjoying "the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay," i thought these pulitzer prize people might know what they were talking about. i bought "the shipping news." i read the first chapter and threw it across the room. proulx's writing style is infuriating. ridiculous descriptive sentences that are trying very hard to sound "deep" or "profound" are just, well, rediculous. i suppose some people will see that it won a pulitzer prize and, if they don't like it, will just assume that the pulitzer committee are smarter than them, but they'd be wrong. this book just stinks.
Rating: 
Summary: Hope the Movie's Better
Review: Being a writer and hoping to break into the field, I was curious about a book that has been chosen for a movie. Maybe I missed something. It took awhile to get into this book and found it to be a little sluggish and plodding. I personally like characters with humor and strength as well as strong dialogue and action. I hope the movie's better.
Rating:
Summary: I don't get it
Review: I got within 100 pages of finishing The Shipping News when it occurred to me that I no longer cared about a single one of the characters. I really, really tried to like this book, but it just wasn't happening, then I got tired of trying. Reading a book should be a lot more fun than this was. Yawn!
Rating:
Summary: Not as Advertised
Review: I felt this book was poorly written. The writing was difficult to follow as there were many 'non-sentences'. Too many random phrases and thoughts. I hope the movie is better.
Rating:
Summary: THE MOVIE IS MORE VIBRANT THAN THE BOOK
Review: To get a feel for the book and its characters, I think one has to have a basic understanding of "the Maritime way of life" and even then, Newfoundland has its unique lifestyle. As one who lives in the Canadian Maritimes, and not far from Newfoundland, it is very easy to relate to some of the people in this book and their way of life. If you know nothing about Maritime life, then the story may not be appreciated. Say what you like about Newfoundlanders, when it comes to hospitality, there are no finer or friendlier people to be found and that comes from someone who has travelled extensively. The author, however, does not do justice to Newfoundland and portrays it as a desolate spot in the middle of nowhere. On the contrary, there is some extremely breathtaking beauty in this unique province that the author has failed to capture on paper. The strong points of the book are the characters' unique personalities, particularly that of Quoyle; he is a wonder to behold. The theme of the book was good; however, the subplots left much to be desired. The writing style may not be easily understood by everyone and that may be one of the reasons the book received some poor reviews. I did find the book worth reading; however, the movie held my attention to a greater degree than the book. I enjoy a book that grasps the reader's attention from page one and never lets go. This book got off to such a slow start that it was almost painful to stick with it during the beginning pages. Once I did get past that hurdle and became accustomed to the author's unique writing style, the remainder of the book came together quite nicely.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly Disappointing
Review: When I saw the preview for the movie, I thought it might be good, and, since I know that there is a vast population of professional book butcherers in Hollywood, I decided to read the book before I saw the movie. I absolutely HATED it. It should have been called, The Misadventures of a Loser who Obviously Cannot get through anything in life and who doesn't even try. I also did not get any of the strange similes, especially the one about the whitecaps on the water being compared to maggots. How to turn someone off to your writing: Insult something that many people love. I also thought that the book's plot was not well enough developed. I think Wavey could have had a much more prominent and dynamic role, as could have Bunny and Sunshine. The saddest thing about this story though was that it could have been really good.It could have been a very uplifting story about a family's will to overcome their problems by starting over. Instead it was a depressing story about a family who is becalmed in the still waters of their problems and doesn't try to solve them. The minor characters were alright I thought, although I would have put a little more emphasis on Quoyle's new friendships. And as for the writing, it didn't seem that impressive or different. I don't know what the qualifications for the Pulitzer prize are nowadays, but this is not the first time I have been disappointed with a Pulitzer prize winning novel. However, I highly recommend Alistair MacLeod's Island.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: I loved this book. It was a bit slow at the beginning, but gradually I got into it and was sad when I finished reading. I especially enjoyed all of the anecdotes about characters in the book. Proulx has a clever story for every character, even those who don't play a big part in the plot; some might find this tiresome, but I thought it added something very special to the plot.
Rating:
Summary: This book is as tumescent as a yachtful of mashed yams
Review: See, I can do Annie Proolxz similes too! I must be a lyrical and talented writer!
What did Truman Capote say about 'On The Road?' "That's not writing, that's typewriting." He could have been talking about this book. Give your fingers a rest, Annie, or learn to write an elegant, declarative English sentence.
Rating:
Summary: Ready to learn - but didn't
Review: I have written a little, been rejected a lot. I approached this tale with expectation. Wanted to see what would win all those awards. Didn't see it. I took a rejection notice and applied the criticisms to this work. Where was the drama? Couldn't find it. Where were the redeeming characters? Couldn't find them. What was the 'greater truth?' Wasn't revealed to me. The author tried too hard to hit a homerun on every page. Over reaching at every turn, which became distracting. The only character that I thought was interesting and worthwhile was the resurected Jack Buggit. The passages where he described his philosophy to the befuddled Quoyle were very entertaining. (The main reason for the second star.) This character had potential to be explored but wasn't. There was more pathos and depth in this man, who overcame adversity in a way that the bumbling Quoyle could never do. In my life's experience, I've never seen anyone as insipid as Quoyle, start out as a complete nerd--never read anything, didn't know about anything--then be transformed by moving to a place where people didn't know he was a nerd. I didn't see how the man could magically elevate himself by pounding away at his manual typewriter on the kitchen table. Perhaps it's true what they say about the thousand monkeys, locked in a room, eventually typing 'War and Peace.' Now if one of the many ghosts had appeared and touched him on the shoulder... maybe. I read the book in two sittings. I'm proud of that even though I could not find many of the words in my unabridged dictionary. I would look them up only if the context didn't give me a hint as to meaning, which was all too often. I await the movie to see how Hollywood makes this into a story. Jay Leno or John Goodman should have gotten the lead, not Kevin Spacey. Guaranteed it won't be like the book.
|
