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A review by vegandanimal
The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman by Denis Thériault
3.0
An odd little book - I enjoyed it, but it left me rather cold. Perhaps that's the authors intention - the protagonist is an odd fellow whose 'quirks' come across as some kind of severe personality disorder when taken together, and whose actions range from the pitiful to borderline psychotic, while the language of the novel has an overly precise , almost clinical feel to it in places that it makes it hard to connect to the book emotionally (though that may just be the effect of the translation from the French).
I did enjoy the Haiku, which are very good, and the book comes alive in the sections that feature them most heavily - but at times these parts feel like they belong in a different book entirely, which leaves the book a tad uneven. (Reading in the afterword interview with Author that the Poetry and Japanese motifs where a late idea that necessitated a rewrite to work in was very interesting).
But having said all that, I still enjoyed it, and will check out the authors other work if I get the chance.
I did enjoy the Haiku, which are very good, and the book comes alive in the sections that feature them most heavily - but at times these parts feel like they belong in a different book entirely, which leaves the book a tad uneven. (Reading in the afterword interview with Author that the Poetry and Japanese motifs where a late idea that necessitated a rewrite to work in was very interesting).
But having said all that, I still enjoyed it, and will check out the authors other work if I get the chance.