Landlocked (novel)

Landlocked is the fourth novel in Carol Shields's "Republic of Love" series, following The Republic of Love, Larry's Party, and Unless. Published in 2005, the novel is written as a fictional autobiography of Alberta "Bert" Delaney, an intelligent and introspective woman living in the American Midwest.

The novel takes the form of a collection of Bert's writings across her lifespan, including journal entries, letters, poems, short stories, and unfinished novel fragments. These writings chart her personal and intellectual development, as well as her evolving relationships and views on life, death, and the nature of existence.

Bert's life is presented as a series of seemingly ordinary events and experiences, which she explores with depth and nuance. She grapples with questions of faith, identity, and the challenges of being a woman in a changing world. Key themes explored in Landlocked include the search for meaning in everyday life, the power of language and storytelling, and the complexities of human connection. The fragmented and non-linear structure of the novel mirrors the way memories and experiences often surface and resurface in our minds. The title itself refers to Bert's perceived sense of being trapped or limited by her circumstances, both geographically and emotionally, a feeling that gradually evolves over the course of the narrative.