Rating: 
Summary: I just didn't enjoy it
Review: Her writing style was hard to follow. The characters are boring, depressing, and didn't compel me enough to want to try harder to understand. It wasn't my cup of tea. I see that some loved it, but I prefer writing that is so smooth and beautifully written that you forget you are reading and become enveloped in the story. When I read this I had to say "What the h*ll is she talking about?" too many times. Call me unrefined. This is probably the kind of book 10th grade English teachers are assigning to their unwitting students. Poor kids. To be honest I just gave up and didn't finish it. Thank GOD I had that option, life is too short.
Rating: 
Summary: A question of identity.
Review: Proulx is effective in conveying a sense of regional identity. Her depiction of Newfoundland, its people and the structure of its society, identifies a culture of hardiness, survival, comradeship and a feeling of being different. The validity of this as a true depiction of Newfoundland is, however, tempered by the preface which states, mysteriously, that: "The Newfoundland in this book, though salted with grains of truth, is an island of invention." The reader is left to ponder: is the real Newfoundland found in those grains of truth or is the apparently unique character depicted by Proulx, an American, a mere stereotype?
Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing ,like John Irving, but with a melancoly air.
Review: Perhaps those who review on line should qualify themselves as to the sophistication of their reading tastes. I don't see how a reader of quality literature could not appreciate the wonderful poetry-like technique of Proulx's style, the uniqueness of the setting, but most of all,the imaginative aray of characters. Their developement and interrelationship make a story to appreciate on many levels. Shallow readers, like teenagers should stick with "graphic novels".
Rating:
Summary: This book won awards?!?!?
Review: I will make this review short- I don't want to waste anymore time even thinking about this book. These characters were completely underdeveloped. Quoyle was supposed to go through a psychological transformation. He was supposed to "...confront his private demons...". Unfortunately, this was lacking. But what's worse is the absent plot. Proulx's descriptions of Newfoundland were vivid. But let's face it, how many times can you read about the blue water and cold weather? Honestly, I wish I never read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Refreshing for the avid reader!
Review: Proulx mixes a different writing style with a new character and plot to make a jouyous read. Indeed, I place it among this century's ten finest novels! I suspect the Miss Thistlebottoms of this world will not enjoy the use of sentence fragments or the unnaturally tragic hero Proulx develops. They probably will not appreciate the surrealistic situation in which the hero is placed either. Even his job is a gas! I only hope that Proulx can regain her ability to keep her writing new and vibarnt, unlike "Postcards."
Rating:
Summary: Not the best bedtime reading, but worth losing sleep over.
Review: Fat Quoyle. A mediocre writer whose life is fraught with deep personal problems forsakes New York for the barren rocks of Newfoundland. Here his dreary existence matches his surroundings. A place to call home. In a small dysfunctional community where everyone's life is an open book, Quoyle's dysfunctional life draws no particular attention. Against this bleak backdrop, Proulx sketches in charcoal, the flat lives of her characters. Here and there a splash of colour. Like berries on a curve of granite (or blood on a stone) an unsuspected chuckle gurgles out of the fog. Now and again the reader is jarred by a $50 word coming from the mouth of a semi-literate outport fisherman or carpenter. This is not a book safely read by the depressed. There is little hope here, and little happiness. Like a house tied to the rock on a windy point by corroding cables, the story is shaky. The thread which weaves the book together is very fine. Barely satisfying. Or maybe that is the book's genius. As the writer points out, the life of the community, the young, the smart, the talented, have gone away leaving behind a tattered remnant of what was once vibrant. Could the sparse character of the book be a device to punctuate the desolation of a dying community? Perhaps. Should you read the book? I think so. I came away from the reading with a better understanding of the concept of loss. What it means to experience loss. To lose something valuable, to lose something cherished, to lose something worth losing. That in itself is worth keeping.
Rating:
Summary: Read it Again!
Review: I hate reading reviews that disclose anything about the plot of a book, so all I will say is that Proulx uses such beautiful, subtle language that a second read is a must. This book is devine, filled with everything good (and not so good) about humanity. Proulx shows strength in every aspect: from strong characterization and development to evoking a powerful emotional responses, and walking the reader through them with such perfect finesse that you don't even realize it! ...which is why you should read it at least twice and then pass it on to someone who will appreciate it.
Rating:
Summary: No more Prouxl for me
Review: The plot and characters are contrived and unbelievable. Prouxl's relentless dwelling on Quoyle being such a schlmiel becomes quite tiresome by two thirds of the way through. How can Mrs. Melville dismember her husband on the barge, when we have been told that it requires four other strong men as crew members? (maybe Prouxl reveals this secret later ...) Prouxl makes Newfoundlanders look like ridiculous bumpkins (with a peculiar interest in sexual abuse), whose only saving grace is some practical wisdom about the sea. Prouxl should try reading Graham Greene or Paul Theroux to learn how to place a novel in an exotic locale without turning the exercise into a cartoon.
Rating:
Summary: ABSOLUTELY THE WORST!
Review: I picked up the shipping news to read for my 10th grade english outside reading assignment. Once i begin reading the story, I realized this choice was a terrible mistake! Try as a might, i could not get into the book, nore any of the BORINg, POINTLESS characters...this book is the pitts don't attempt to read it, it is a total waste of time!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: superb
Review: What a wonderful book ! It's the first time in my life I finished reading the last word and turned back to page 1 to begin reading it all over again. This woman is a marvelous writer, with a unique style and a warm understanding of the human heart.
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