The Shipping News

The Shipping News is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel (ISBN 068485791X) by E. Annie Proulx which was published in 1993, and a film of the same name, released in 2001, set on the Canadian island of Newfoundland.

The film was directed by Lasse Hallström and stars Kevin Spacey as the protagonist Quoyle, Judi Dench as his aunt, and Julianne Moore. It also stars Pete Postlethwaite, Scott Glenn, Rhys Ifans, Cate Blanchett and Gordon Pinsent.

The film makes a multitude of small changes from the book, many of which appeared to be intended to save money -- for instance, in the novel, Quoyle had two small daughters, but only one in the film.

The novel had three very important themes that critics felt were missing from the movie: Quoyle learning that love could be comfortable rather than painful; Quoyle growing from being a bumbling incompetent to being a competent manager; Bunny learning about death (and in the process overcoming her fears and learning to be more secure). Though the film was marginally popular, it was heavily criticized within Canada for its extremely inaccurate and offensive portrayals of Newfoundland.