| November 11, 1998 The Shipping News
by E. Annie Proulx (1993). What a wonderful book! From
start to finish, a delight to read. E. Annie Proulx conveys emotion, character, and
humor in understated and sublime ways that draw me in as a reader and just won't let
go. Her characters not only live and breathe, they make me care. I wish I
could find a hundred more books like this one, books that just make me happy to be alive.
I'm not very lucid tonight, so let me quote a passage from
this gem of a book:
On the stairs an image came to him. Was love then
like a bag of assorted sweets passed around from which one might choose more than once?
Some might sting the tongue, some invoke night perfume. Some had centers as
bitter as gall, some blended honey and poison, some were quickly swallowed. And
among the common bull's-eyes and peppermints a few rare ones; one or two with deadly
needles at the heart, another that brought calm and gentle pleasure. Were his
fingers closing on that one?
This book is about love and new beginnings, about hearts
that beat hot in the frozen north. A great book for the onset of winter. |
