Proulx, Annie: *1935

The Shipping News, 1993 - Thematic Parallels: Belonging

Belonging is the feeling or experience of being accepted, included, and valued as part of a group.
Proulx, Annie: The Shipping News, 1993
This is is a novel about personal transformation, belonging, and renewal.
The following books are thematically simliar. They lend themselves well to being read in groups, compared with one another, or used to teach a similar topic over an extended period with a class:
- Draper, Sharon: Copper Sun, 2006, ~300pp
  This is a novel that deals with survival and belonging amidst harsh conditions.
  - While "Copper Sun" deals with historical trauma and slavery and "The Shipping News" is more about personal tragedy and renewal, both novels explore trauma, resilience, identity, isolation, and the importance of community.
- Kidd, Sue Monk: The Secret Life of Bees, 2002, ~300pp
  This is a novel about a young girl searching for belonging, family, and identity.
  - Both novels center on protagonists who face profound personal loss and find healing through community and reconnection with family or family-like figures. While Kidd’s novel is more intimate and focused on race and maternal loss, and Proulx’s is broader and more starkly comic-tragic, both novels share themes of grief, identity, community, and the healing power of place and relationships.
- Paton, Alan: Cry, the Beloved Country, 1948, ~250pp
  The novel is a critique of social injustice and a plea for reconciliation and understanding in a divided society.
  - Both novels share a focus on trauma, redemption, and the interplay between individual and community, with environment and place shaping identity and growth. Both ultimately convey a cautious optimism about human resilience.
- Walker, Alice: The Color Purple, 1982, ~300pp
  The novel is a exploration of the resilience of women, particularly African-American women, in the face of systemic oppression, and their journey toward self-liberation.
  - Despite differences in setting, gender focus, and narrative style, both novels are about trauma, isolation, resilience, and the journey toward self-discovery, deeply rooted in their respective landscapes and communities.
List of general discussion questions on Belonging (pdf)
List of essay prompts on Belonging (pdf)