Clarence034's Full Review: David Brin - The Postman
Would anyone out there like to feel that light queasiness, borne of pride, at the sight of Old Glory? Have you forgotten just why it's so great to be an American? Do you remember what we used to stand for? Well, David Brin must written this book just for you if that is the case.
Before I read this book, I didn't think there could be anything as square as a book running in a patriotic vein. I thought such a book would be about some sort of overly noble boy scout with a lancelot complex and rippling muscles, going about stomping on all things un-American and voicing pretentious monologues regarding why we're so right and good.
That's not what this book is at all. This is a book about a man who is nothing more than a lying vagrant. Someone who, in a world slapped back into an era of pioneer-level technology, cannot be bothered to work, but, instead, trades tales and one man skits for food. The longer you read the book, the more respect you lose for Gordon, the main character. Yet, despite that fact, Brin makes the character someone who, due to his foibles, we can relate to.
I guess all the great heroes were flawed. Even King Arthur and Lancelot Dulac were seriously screwed up.
After being robbed at the beginning of the book, Gordon spends an evening in the cab of an old mail truck with the decayed body of the attending postal character. The mailman's misfortune ends up being Gordon's salvation: the mailman's vehicle keeps Gordon from freezing during a cold, rainy night, and provides him with a few items that ensure his survival later on.
Gordon, now wearing the leather jacket of the mail carrier, convinces, through dumb luck and quick thinking, a small town that he is a representative of the reformed government of the USA. The only person skeptical of Gordon's tale is the old matron of the town he happens upon, who tolerates him because he's a likeable and intelligent guy. She's also pleased with the effect his ruse brings, inspiring the other villagers to set up a school. Deluged with letters to deliver to other communities, Gordon feels somewhat obligated to deliver these letters, although, more importantly, he sees the letters as a way of continuing his scam until he finds the last bastion of modern civilization he's been seeking since having first heard of it.
Gordon's deception ends up inspiring people to rise up against a group of plunderers who have begun, once again, pillaging the area. Although Gordon's warnings about these feudalistic madmen go unheeded for far too long, people eventually get wise to what is happening, and take up arms. Many, including some Gordon becomes close to, lose their life fighting against this feudalistic group.
Gordon becomes more and more wrapped up in his lie, despite his attempts to dissuade others and/or escape the situation entirely. Even after he is captured, Gordon does what he can, in his own cowardly fashion. After escape, Gordon is saved by an unexpectedly inspired crusader.
The end of the book is a bit of a surprise, and despite the fact that this book is a piece of post-apocalyptic science-fiction, the battle of titans that ends it is the most sci-fi part of the whole book. It had me thinking "Captain America gone bad..."
'The Postman,' besides being such an inspiring work, is well written, plotted, and the characters incredibly fleshed-out. You care about what happens to these characters, even the weak-willed Gordon. It isn't a predictable plot, by any means, which is something I liked a great deal about this book. I can usually guess what's going to happen in even the cleverest of tales.
This would be a great book for high school literature classes. It's something I've suggested to many of my friends, and, of those who read it, even the most cynical admitted to being moved by it. If you want to read a book that will actually run you through a whole gamut of emotions, and hold your interest from first page to last, pick up 'The Postman.'
NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S MOVIE. THE BOOK ISN'T MUCH LIKE THE FILM BASED ON IT--IT'S MUCH BETTER. KEVIN COSTNER REALLY CHEESED ME OFF THIS TIME.
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