Rating: 
Summary: No thriller, that's for sure...
Review: The Shipping News is well-written, and not unpleasant to read, but the problem is that the story is just so dreadfully boring. Of course, writing about very simple people living dull lives in a cold and underpopulated place doesn't help. How did this book win these two prestigious awards? You tell me. Yet more can be said, for this novel presents us with the underdog's version of the American Dream: "If you work hard, don't complain, hang on to your loved ones, and are prepared to go where opportunities take you, there's a place for you too." What do we see shining through? The values of the pioneers, of course, ie work ethic, perseverance, mobility, and family values. Is that enough to redeem the book from a one-star rating? Maybe, but not from a two-star one.
Rating: 
Summary: Even better than "Accordion crimes"???
Review: After reading "Accordion crimes" by Annie Proulxs, I went straight to the bookstore to get a copy of her other novel "The Shipping News".This is a novel that I will highly recommend to all my friends and anyone reading this review! A warm novel filled with interesting characters and a great sense of humour.
Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful cast of characters and delightful seascapes
Review: I enjoyed all the characters in this wonderfully descriptive marine environment. I could feel and smell all the seascapes. One of my first fiction books in awhile and now that I read this it will turn me on to other fiction books.
Rating: 
Summary: I must confess...
Review: ...I never finished this book. I started it three times. Each time I would struggle a little farther than before, in search of anything more meaningful than banal characters with silly names, trying to find out the secret: why on EARTH would anyone praise this drivel? It's novels like this that have led me to believe that the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award are more about self-congratulation on the part of the prize committees ("Our critical judgement is soooooo superior to that of the average reader") than literary merit on the part of the works considered.
Rating: 
Summary: Newfoundlander with mixed feelings.
Review: This is a good work of fiction but it saddens me once again to see my homeland portrayed in this way. Newfoundlanders are warm, intelligent, witty and lovely people. I hate to see them appear, to outsiders, as stupid, uneducated, inbred idiots. It appears that this story took place part way up the west side of the island as they mention Deer Lake. I'm sure those people are truly insulted. I have lived in California since 1959 but grew up in NFLD and have family there. We are from St. John's area-all educated and successful. Not an inbred idiot in the lot.
Rating:
Summary: A bit un-eventful, yet still managed to keep me intrigued...
Review: At first I felt bad for the main character, Quoyle, whose life seemed short-changed, but that's just the way it is, right? The novel is very real and down-to-Earth. A nice summer read.
Rating:
Summary: You have to be a little odd to enjoy this book...
Review: ...but if you embrace your oddness, this is an incredible book. It creates a comprehensive and moving image of Newfoundland with just a few sparse phrases -- the recurring telephone books from days gone by had me in stitches. This book is peopled by genuine characters -- some are aggravating, some are beguiling, but you will know them all and miss them after finishing this precious glimpse at their lives.
Rating:
Summary: a hero you can relate to
Review: I missed Quoyle and the beautifully rendered characters of this novel for weeks after I finally put the book down. In this world of hard knocks it was nothing short of inspirational to follow this no-luck hero on his journey through misfortune after misfortune-- and on to a victory serene!
Rating:
Summary: tedious
Review: i saw one review that compared this novel to those of one of my favorite authors, john irving. not even close... his books are full of intruiging plotlines and characters that make you wish you'd never get to the end of those 600-something pages. this one, in comparison, contains nothing but fragmented description of a mediocre character and the banality of his life. i even liked her sentence structure at first, but that was a novelty definitely not strong enough to carry me through the book, which i finally gave up on on page 307, though i shouldnt have waited nearly that long. this kind of novel apparently appeals to some people, but if you like books that contain characters you actually enjoy reading about and great plotlines, try john irving. not this.
Rating:
Summary: Thank God I'm not alone in disliking this book!
Review: I, like many others, picked this book based on the awards and recommendations from friends. Until I happened upon these reviews, I thought something was wrong with me. I couldn't stand this book! I found it so plodding and boring. I always pride myself on finishing a book, no matter how difficult, but not this one. I figured life is too short to continue torturing myself and abandoned it about halfway through. I understand she has written a new book. Be afraid, be very afraid.
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