The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman
Review written by Casey Douglass
Postmen and women are
the unsung heroes of the Xmas period. Not only do they continue their
regular duties in our worst weather, they also have to cope with
being inundated with parcels and packages containing all manner of
presents and festive goodies. It seems fitting that the book I am
about to review focuses on the life of a Canadian postman as he
struggles with the eternal conundrum of love in Denis Theriault’s
The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman.
Secretly steaming open envelopes and reading the letters inside, Bilodo has found an escape from his lonely and routine life as a postman. When one day he comes across a mysterious letter containing only a single haiku, he finds himself avidly caught up in the relationship between a long-distance couple, who write to each other using only beautiful poetry. He feasts on their words, vicariously living a life for which he longs. But it will only be a matter of time before his world comes crashing down around him…
I will admit that the
prying nature of Bilodo’s activity grabbed my interest but the
mention of haiku and his desire to learn all he can about his
mysterious woman Ségolène sealed the deal.
What I found in
Theriault’s book was an interesting take on the way we build other
people up in our minds and often prefer the excitement of fantasy,
even when reality presents us with something “real” at the same
time. Bilodo’s tale is one of escalation and obsession that sees
him missing work and devoting days and weeks of his life to the
intangibility of his mental relationship with Ségolène as the rest
of his life begins to suffer.
The book had a quick
pace to proceedings and was a very easy read, the manner and style of
the author lending the story a simplicity that someone else might
have scribbled out in favour of longer and more flowery words. The
haikus add an extra dimension to the narrative and they undergo their
own changes and evolve as much as Bilodo seems to. I’ll admit that
I am far from knowledgeable about haikus, beyond their basic syllable
structure and general traditional themes, but I did enjoy reading the
ones in the book and seeing how the author and Bilodo dealt with
them. Zen ideas infuse the second half of the book and things certainly
take a turn for the strange near the end. To say any more would be to
ruin the surprise however, so I will keep my mouth shut.
I would give The
Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman 4/5. The book was pacey,
well written and intriguing without overstaying its welcome. It was
also a little voyeuristic and sad, and has I feel, plenty to say
about the issue of identity and fantasy in the modern world. You only
need transpose the letters Bilodo opens to texts and tweets and you
could still have the same themes running through it, although I am
sure, even faster paced and with more pictures of exposed genitalia.
The Peculiar Life of
a Lonely Postman is currently in Amazon’s Winter Sale so if you
are quick you can pick it up for only 99p in the Kindle Store.
The Peculiar Life of
a Lonely Postman is written by
Denis Theriault and published in the UK by Hesperus Press Ltd.
