Annie Proulx's The Shipping News: A Reader's Guide

Continuum Contemporaries

by Kate Webb

This work is part of the "Continuum Contemporaries" series giving readers accessible and informative introductions to 30 of the most popular, most acclaimed and most influential contemporary novels. It contains a biography of the novelist, a full-length study of the novel, a summary of how the novel was received upon publication, a summary of how the novel has performed since publication, and a wide range of suggestions for further reading.

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Stephanie Dahlberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really didn't like this book at first. I only persevered because I was reading for my bookclub.

I was bothered by the writing which was fragmented. Sometimes the sentences were complete and sometimes they weren't. As I got further along in the novel, I became used to this. In fact, it was a timesaver that I enjoyed sometimes.

The information about knots was fascinating, as well as the description of boat building. Character development and relationship descriptions were wonderful.

I became a fan by the end of this book and would recommend it. I would caution the reader to summon up patience. It's worth the struggle and wait.

[Sam MCGREE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took a while to get into her style of writing but love her descriptions and her characters. It's a very raw book in many ways. I did enjoy it tho!