By Annie Proulx

To begin, I must put it out there that this novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1994. So duh, it’s well-known as a fairly decent book at the very very least. And I’m super late to the party. But the book is so very interesting and I highly recommend you read it now, if you haven’t already. I’m so glad I FINALLY did.

I love the syntax in this novel. Have you ever heard someone comment on the syntax as a selling point? Well, it is! Proulx writes this story with a really interesting rhythm. Many, many fragments. Few complete sentences. Yet the feel of each thought sticks. Clubs the reader’s heart.

The hero is beyond unlikely. His most remarkable feature is a large jutting chin, which he covers with his hand almost always and in most scenes. Quirky characters are lodged in an unforgiving landscape – Newfoundland on the sea. The struggles, the grief, the moving on, it’s all written in a very poignant manner which is hard to put down.

This book is a landscape with a little romance painted in the corner. Taking center stage is the ocean, there are the fish, and of course, the people beholden to it all.

Stunning prose, deep insight, and funny lines that are too poignant to describe. Yes, I used the word poignant twice – deservedly.

Read this piece of literature and as you take in the ice and snow and freezing water, you’ll find the cockles of your heart are toasty warm.

You can snag your copy here. (As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases)

Content: mostly clean – a few off color comments by colorful characters and a few f-bombs.