WINNER OF THE 1994 PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION WINNER OF THE 1993 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION WINNER OF THE IRISH TIMES INTERNATIONAL FICTION PRIZE Named one of the notable books of the year by The New York Times Winner of the Chicago Tribune Heartland Award “Ms. Proulx blends Newfoundland argot, savage history, impressively diverse characters, fine descriptions of weather and scenery, and comic horseplay without ever lessening the reader’s interest.” – The Atlantic “Vigorous, quirky… displays Ms. Proulx’s surreal humor and her zest for the strange foibles of humanity.” – Howard Norman, The New York Times Book Review “An exciting, beautifully written novel of great feeling about hot people in the northern ice.” – Grace Paley “The Shipping News … is a wildly comic, heart-thumping romance… Here is a novel that gives us a hero for our times.” – Sandra Scofield, The Washington Post Book World “The reader is assaulted by a rich, down-in-the-dirt, up-in-the-skies prose full of portents, repetitions, hold metaphors, brusque dialogues and set pieces of great beauty.” – Nicci Gerrard, The Observer (London) “A funny-tragic Gothic tale, with a speed boat of a plot, overflowing with Black-comic characters. But it’s also that contemporary rarity, a tale of redemption and healing, a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit, and most rare of all perhaps, a sweet and tender romance.” – Sandra Gwynn, The Toronto Star