It's my turn to do the Read With Us wrap-up and I've been considering what I wanted to say about The Shipping News. I did take some notes during our discussion last Tuesday night (although I completely forgot about taking a picture), and I patted myself on the back for remembering to take my notes out of the book before I returned it to the library.
We're very appreciative that so many of you chose to read the book, join us, answer the questions we posed, and discuss the book. Read With Us was conceived as a book group, and while there are three of us, book discussions would quickly reach a dead end if just Kym, Carole, and I were the only ones discussing the books. All of you offer new viewpoints, original thoughts, and opinions and we are grateful for that!
Kym opened up the discussion by asking how many people liked the book, and while the majority of people did, there were a few who did not, and they raised some valid points. Anne Proulx's fragmented writing bothered some people, and Kat mentioned that the first time she read the book, she had a hard time getting past the abuse in the story. Quoyle's life is a sad and sometimes dark story, but Kat got a different take on the book while reading it the second time.
We all seemed to agree that the Newfoundland setting was of utmost importance, and almost anything that happens is due to the setting. We mentioned food along with the setting - seal flipper pie, squid burger, and fried bologna were all things that Quoyle came to accept.
The ending was deemed both happy and sad, and maybe even a bit hopeful, with the characters moving on, broadening their worlds, looking for and finding their community and acceptance. And because the knots in the book have fascinated me each time I've read it, I want to mention how clever and creative I thought the author was to build a story around and include knots after finding a copy of The Ashley Book of Knots at a yard sale for a quarter. (I'm still looking!)
If you took part in the Zoom and you’d like to share some of our discussion highlights in the comments, please feel free to do so. (That might make for a better wrap-up than trying to decipher my fragmented and scribbled notes!) Thanks so much for coming along and for choosing to Read With Us. Stay tuned as we’ll be announcing our spring selection next Tuesday!
I think you hit all the high points, Bonny. There's so much to discuss when it comes to this book and I loved hearing everyone's thoughts.
ReplyDeleteNice wrap up Bonny and I loved our Zoom gathering. It is so nice to be able to discuss our books with such a wide ranging (geographically too) group.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I would like to thank you for picking a book that has been published for quite some time. I found the discussion, as always, made me think about the book in ways I had not when I read it! I do so love this group... they are wise readers with good insights!
ReplyDeleteWhile I did very much like this book, I want to say that with all the books you ladies have chosen, I always appreciate them more after discussing them. Some of my family members have expressed surprise that we actually discuss the books in our book club -- it's such a treat to read and talk about books with other readers who are serious about books!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I had to miss the discussion, but I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading The Shipping News!
ReplyDeleteWe missed you, Debbie, but I'm glad you re-read The Shipping news (and enjoyed it)!
DeleteAlthough I didn't like the story, I enjoyed the thoughtful comments. I was interested to learn why others found The Shipping News such a good novel and I understand their point of view. It was a reread and this time I found the characters rough. I also had a hard time getting past the abuse. While I like a spare writing style, just as Claire Keegan's, the writing in this book didn't appeal to me. I recently learned of a series of books written about knitting traditions in Newfoundland. The first book, co-authored by two women, is Saltwater Mittens.
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