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Oh, the writing! This book by E. Annie Proulx takes place primarily in Newfoundland. Even in the summer it's cold. And windy. I don't know how she did it, but Proulx's exquisite writing mirrors the iciness of the barren land. If ice and snow had a writing style, this would be it.

But know this: This extraordinary literary novel—it did win the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award—is not an easy book to read.

The focus is on the characters, rather than the plot. While there is quite a cast, most of whom have Dickensian names, such as Wavey Prowse, Tert Card, Mavis Bangs, and Beety Buggit, the main character, Quoyle (no first name is ever revealed) is the centerpiece.

Quoyle is 36 and such a forlorn and pitiful failure of a man! He is overweight, born with a large, ugly chin he often hides with his hand, and has no self-confidence. Horrible things happen to him, but he bounces back, albeit a little beat up each time. His redeeming quality is his abiding and intense love for his two little girls. After his unfaithful and meanspirited wife is killed, Quoyle moves from upper New York state to remote Killick-Claw, Newfoundland, the land of his ancestors. How he manages to scrape out a living—both monetarily and physically in this harsh environment—is the crux of the plot. But the real story is the transformation of Quoyle's character from a lonely, broken man to someone who is whole again.

This is what I call an "intelligent novel." There is no page-turning suspense, no ingenious plot, no lively narrative. It is, rather, a novel that will engage your senses, drop you headfirst into the setting, and make these characters with the funny names come alive.

Proulx's exceptional eye for detail is so exacting that I could almost smell the rotten fish, see the perilous rocks of ice in the water, hear the bleating of the foghorns, taste the favorite cuisine of squid burgers and cod cheeks, and feel the bitter, piercing cold seep through the windows.

This is a book to be savored and treasured.