Quoyle, the protagonist, is a schlemihl (he is redeemable, however, unlike Benny Profane in V.). He is tossed about on the sea of fortune, suffering unrequited love and bouncing from job to job pathetically until he moves to Newfoundland with his family. There he writes "The Shipping News", a column in a local paper serving a sparsely populated coastal area, and begins to piece his life together.

Proulx is best described as a prose stylist. Her language is clever but occasionally unorthodox. This particular novel won the Pulitzer Prize, a strong indication of quality. I found myself interested but not captivated, though the Newfoundland characters are very well drawn and of particular interest. Your mileage may vary.