The Shipping News
By Annie Proulx
My late cousin Barry recommended The Shipping News to me years ago (it was published in 1993). He described it as “liquid poetry”. After that “liquid” recommedation, I picked up the book and started reading. I initially found the writing to be choppy and distracting, making it hard to follow. Determined to know what he found so poetic, I read on. Eventually, I came to agree with him.
Proulx has created characters as unique and quirky as John Irving’s characters in A Prayer for Owen Meany. Quoyle, the main character, is a loser who is hard to love. He is incredibly inept but knows it. The story starts in New York and, after a string of tragedies Quoyle , his two daughters, his aunt and her dog move to Newfoundland to make a fresh start. The author brings their sleepy, salty, seaside village to life.
He lands a job at the gammy bird newspaper. He is assigned to report the shipping news,a role he is reluctant to take. However, the job becomes the catalyst that turns his life around. Not your run of the mill loser turns winner story, but a tale of human motivation and change. All told in ……you guessed it, liquid poetry.
One interesting aspect of the book is that each chapter begins with an insightful quote from The Ashley Book of Knots or the Mariner’s Dictionary. Also note the foreshadowing at the end of each chapter.
66 Days Adrift
By William Butler
A True Story of Disaster and Survival on the Open Sea
I am a power boater not a sailor. Yet, I have always dreamt about sailing around the world in the proverbial 90 days. But, truth be told, all of my boating has been limited to New England with the exception of island cruises and deep sea fishing while on vacation. Because of this, my journeys around the world have come in book form. I find that there is something strangely alluring about sea mishaps and survival at sea stories. Proof of that is the success of the book and movie “The Perfect Storm”.
Can you imagine being lost at sea for 66 days, the result of being attacked by a pod of pilot whales? Me neither. The author, William Butler, kept a log during their days adrift and shares it with us. They encounter great whites, whales, unimaginable mishaps and many near misses of being rescued. This book is an easy read, a quick page-turner that keeps you on the edge of your seat. So much so, that it may give you second thoughts about that well planned journey with your spouse around the world. More of a recommendation than a review, I highly recommend it. Although it starts out a bit slow, stick with it. You’ll be glad you did.
Drop a comment and let me know your thoughts after you read it. I would love to hear from you all.
Chapman:
It doesn’t matter if you are an experienced skipper or a new boater, you should not leave the dock without the boaters bible;Chapman Piloting and Seamanship. I received this book about 15 years ago as a gift. Frankly, I am electronically challenged so, I updated my old version with this one. It covers all the electronics on the market today and more. There is almost 1000 pages of comprehensive, current, illustrated information on virtually every boating topic there is. Included is vital information about boating rules, weather, tide, currents, and navigation. You will not be laying in your bunk with this one, it will be nearby at all times as a reference.
