When Quoyle's two-timing wife meets her just deserts he retreats with his two daughters to his ancestral home on the starkly beautiful Newfoundland coast where a rich cast of local characters and family members all play a part in Quoyle's struggle to reclaim his life. As Quoyle confronts his private demons--and the unpredictable forces of nature and society--he begins to see the possibility of love without pain or misery. A vigorous darkly comic and at times magical portrait of the contemporary North American family The Shipping News shows why Annie Proulx is recognized as one of the most gifted and original writers in America today.
