The Shipping News is a story about Quoyle, a thirty-six-year-old man with low self-esteem and little self-motivation. Not knowing what he wants to do with his life, he accepts a job as a newspaper journalist in his small hometown of Mockingburg in upstate New York. Quoyle marries the first woman to give him any attention and goes on to have a very destructive marriage. His wife Petal hates herself, hates Quoyle, and even hates their two daughters. She spends most of her time drinking and looking for love in the beds of various men. Quoyle loves her endlessly and maintains his devotion to her, their marriage, and their daughters. He is finally freed from the relationship when she dies in a tragic car accident with one of her lovers.
Quoyle's aunt comes to help out with the.....
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