In an important passage, Quoyle's colleague Billy gives him a metaphor for the schema for a man's life: "Ar, that? Let's see. Used to say there were four women in every man's heart. The Maid in the Meadow, the Demon Lover, the Stouthearted Woman, the Tall and Quiet Woman." (p. 182). While I have a hard time relating that to my own experience, it definitely correlates directly to Quoyle. The Tall and Quiet Woman is clearly the wonderful Wavey (!) and the story of she and Quoyle is another wonderful highlight to this charming book. I was enthralled with the people I met while reading and when this family saga ended - of loves lost and found; of careers begun, stalled, and begun again; of friendships and warmth and caring; of dark times and sad times and cruel times and joyful times – when it all came to an end, I felt I would give anything for a few more (like 10 or 20) chapters, even though the ending is perfect. When Quoyle finds knotted twine in the doorways of his girls' room, he goes to hunt down the cousin, Nolan. He finds Nolan lying beside his white dog, a dirty, mad hermit and Quoyle gives up the idea of a fight. At Christmastime, Dennis Buggit and Quoyle go to take Nolan some food. Eventually, the cousin is put in an insane asylum. When Quoyle visits, Nolan reveals that Quoyle's father raped the aunt when they were young.

Over time, Quoyle learns deep and disturbing secrets about his ancestors that emerge in strange ways. As Quoyle builds his new life in Newfoundland, he is transformed. He creates a rewarding job, makes friends and begins a relationship with a local woman, Wavey Prowse. Quoyle Promontory is the birthplace of Quoyle's father, a diffuse character - where he retires with his two little girl. If I were as clever and witty as some of my GR friends (you know who you are), I would have written this review in the style of the book. Newfoundland is more than the setting for this story, it is a dreary yet engaging character onto itself. Does the cold weather and the rough life add to your enjoyment of the book? Do you think the chapter headings from The Ashley Book of Knots, The Mariner's Dictionary, and Quipus and Witches' Knots add to the atmosphere of the book? Did their humor illustrate some of Proulx's points, or did they simplify some of her issues? Notice especially the headings for chapters 2, 4, 28, 32, 33, and 34.Knots are the most obvious one. Each chapter opens with a quotation pertinent to what it contains, and many are from Ashley Book of Knots, which Proulx found second-hand, and gave her the inspiration and structure she sought. Knots feature in the plot metaphorically (in terms of being bound or adrift), in a more literal and superstitious sense. Rope can be wound and knotted to make good a wound or separation. We also learn that Quoyle's name means "coil of rope", and I suppose he is pretty tightly coiled for the first half of the book. Each chapter is preceded by a small quote from Ashley's " Book of Knots" , which aims at the meaning of the chapter. I really appreciated, and understood, the protagonist’s difficulty in putting a poisonous person/relationship behind him. It is artfully rendered, not cheap; as such issues can often be presented in lesser hands. Ms. Proulx captures that irony of fondly remembering a demon accurately.

By the way it's built, Quoyle is reminiscent of prince Mishkin - " good " in the most essential sense of the word, foreign to any pettiness. Just that Dostoïevski's " idiot" had, unlike Quoyle - a less struggling past.He got in the habit of walking around the trailer and asking aloud, "Who knows?" He said, "Who knows?" For no one knew. He meant, anything could happen. I am not going to lie. I love the fact that this story unfolds on the stark and beautiful, majestic coast of Newfoundland, a province in the land I call my own. a babysitter "doing overtime in a trance of electronic color and simulated life, smoking cigarettes and not wondering. The floor around her strewn with hairless dolls."

His friend did not smile. Was on the job. Read for a few seconds, lifted his face to the fluorescent light. "Edna was in she'd shred this. Al saw it he'd tell Punch to get rid of you. You got to rewrite this. Here, sit down. Show you what's wrong. They say reporters can be made out of anything. You'll be a test case." During this time, Quoyle has noticed a tall, graceful woman in town, Wavey Prowse, whose child, Herry, has Down's Syndrome. Wavey initially draws Quoyle's attention because of the way she walks and carries herself; they have a mutual fondness for each other. One day, they seem to come close to physical intimacy, but Wavey, reminded of her dead husband, runs away. Quoyle has an epiphany, feeling renewed and sure of his place amidst the great vastness of sea, earth, and time. Horrible, near-grotesque people. People you would never want to know, or date. Food I would never touch, outside of starvation.The writing is very different and interesting. While they are in their small town in New York, the sentences are terse, choppy – very few articles and no conjunctions. Tight, compressed sentences that reflected their tight, compressed existence. It happens in Newfoundland, a place of water, moisture, and rottenness, of words that travel long distances, a place for people who know everything about boats, cliffs and icebergs. Last night the Pine Eye Planning Commission voted by a large margin to revise earlier recommendations for amendments to the municipal zoning code that would increase the minimum plot size of residential properties in all but downtown areas to seven acres.