Annie Proulx

I've never really thought of swamps and bogs as beautiful but Annie Proulx describes them as wondrous but rapidly disappearing places. I was quite mesmerized listening to this book. Proulx describes the difference between the various kinds of wetland and the roles they play in sequestering carbon and protecting wildlife and plants. She also goes back in history to explore the fens of England and the peat bogs of Ireland and many other places. Sadly, many of these once large wetlands have almost totatlly disappeared. Proulx argues that if we want to reverse climate change we have to reintroduce these wetlands. Of course, that's not going to be popular with the many people who now live where they were located. Yet, with climate change comes rising ocean levels and more areas that will be submerged so maybe Mother Earth will return to the age of "fens, bogs and swamps".

Now, if only something could be done about all those mosquitoes that live in wet areas I'd be happy to have them return.… (more)

A slow-burner that rewards those that stick with it. There's no real plot here, just a year or so with a rudderless man who has been kicked by life in general and especially by those who should of loved him.
Quoyle relocates with his daughters to Newfoundland, his ancestral home, after tragedy strikes. With the help of his aunt, fellow reporters at the local newspaper, and the townspeople, Quoyle perhaps finds his place in the world and love that is given back in kind instead of stomped on.
What drives this book is getting to know the small-town people and their struggles as their lives change with the death of the fishing economy. Proulx captures locations and the locals' speech patterns nicely and never presents them as eccentrics, although they certainly are characters.
Poignant, humorous, a lovely book.… (more)