Proulx v. Orringer

Last night I went to a Paris Review reading featuring Annie Proulx and Julie Orringer. I don't know much abour Orringer, but Annie Proulx is one of my favorite authors, with The Shipping News and Postcards ranking among my favorite books of all time, and That Old Ace in the Hole being pretty good by a regular author, but simply not up to Proulx standards.

For example, here are the first two paragraphs of The Shipping News:

Here is an account of a few years in the life of Quoyle, born in Brooklyn and raised in a shuffle of dreary upstate towns.

Hive-spangled, gut roaring with gas and cramp, he survived childhood; at the state university, hand clapped over his chin, he camouflaged torment with smiles and silence. Stumbled through his twenties and into his thirties learning to separate his feelings from his life, counting on nothing. He ate prodigiously, liked a ham knuckle, buttered spuds.

It gets better.

The format of the reading was exceedingly formal: each author read for a while, then four canned questions to both of them, then a book signing. Orringer went first. It may have been the longest 20 minutes of my life, some story about insecure women laden with cliches and boring. Then Annie Proulx came on.

She's an old lady, kinda fat, butch haircut -- looks like a Midwest grandma. She kicked ass.

Her story was interesting, with a plot and action and people worth caring about. The thematic emphasis was subtle, not bludgeoned (a la J.O.). It was hilarious and a little bit sad. I paid attention to the whole thing. And, best of all, she did voices for all the characters.

In short, if you're looking for something to read, buy an Annie Proulx book. They're amazing.

On a related note, Annie Proulx is renowned for giving her characters ridiculous names. Some examples: Quoyle, Ace Crouch, Ed Punch, Al Catalog, Janice Foxley. The names are generally ridiculous, as you can see--but recently I've noticed that there are some crazy names out there. Here are a few actual names I've encountered lately:

Orbelle Poco (male)
Zeb Ripple
Mike Vanderslice

and the best of them all
Shaquille O'Neal