A post on The Shipping News (and love)

So last night I went to bed around 7:30, got super cozy and warm and finished reading The Shipping News. This book has been on my list of books to read for quite a while, so I was really looking forward to it. It is about an odd guy named Quoyle who is fairly unsuccessful in life. He never really finds a job he's good at. His one friend moves to California. And the woman he chooses as a wife treats him horribly and constantly cheats on him. Then, on a fateful day, the wife, Petal, steals their 2 daughters, sells them to a pervert and is killed in a car crash. The girls are brought back unharmed thank goodness, and Quoyle moves to Newfoundland, place of his ancestors, with an Aunt he has just met. While in Newfoundland Quoyle meets and interacts with many suprising and odd people. He becomes pretty good at his job. He makes a few friends. He does several things which people think are stupid (which does not surprise him). And he does several things for which people congratulate him (this really surprises him). Throughout the book he comes into an acceptance of himself as those around him accept him. He also learns that love doesn't always have to a red hot fire full of pain, but can also be (and in my opinion truly is) a place of warmth, safety and comfort, free from pain. I think this is a book that will stay with me for a while... as I continue on my slow journey to accept myself, and live my life day to day (enjoying simple pleasures), and learn to love more fully.