Going Postal by Terry Pratchett Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Going Postal
Book Review: Special Delivery!
Summary: 5 Stars
Terry Pratchett's Going Postal is a recent addition to his extensive Discworld series. The Discworld was created as a parody of the modern fantasy genre as well as our increasingly fantastic (in the old sense) modern life. This particular story takes place in Ankh-Morpork, the greatest city on the Disc. While I could justifiably suggest many things this novel is about, the most significant theme seen by any contemporary reader is that of corporate responsibility and justice. In the age of Enron, Worldcom, Tyco, HealthSouth, etc. the machinations of the Grand Trunk sound disturbingly familiar.... But I'm getting ahead of myself.
For readers not familiar with Pratchett's work, the most frequently made comparisons are with Douglas Adams and Monty Python. Pratchett is very much a part of the tradition of British satirical humor. The crucial difference between Pratchett and the others is his ability to create deep, emotionally involving characters and imbue his work with a powerful moral sensibility. The miracle is that he does this without sacrificing the humor at all. His novels are both very funny and emotionally engaging.
The story begins with the hanging of the notorious con man Alfred Spangler. Shortly after his "execution", Spangler hears himself addressed by his real name "Lipwig". Moist von Lipwig wakes up to find himself in the office of Lord Vetinari, ruler of the city. His hanging (a very convincing show) having disposed of Spangler, a troublesome criminal, Lipwig is free to pursue the opportunity offered him as Postmaster to revive Ankh-Morpork's moribund post office.
The post office, as an accurate satire on many government-sponsored institutions, is both cumbersome and inefficient. For all practical purposes, it stopped functioning decades ago. Worse yet, a new form of high-speed, long distance communication has recently appeared that apparently makes the post office altogether irrelevant. The "clacks" are a set of mechanized semaphore towers run (legally) by a corporation known as the Grand Trunk and (practically) by a set of dedicated craftsmen who spend days at a time up in their towers. (As a way of introducing high-speed communication into a low-tech society, Pratchett's adaptation of semaphore is a simply brilliant idea.)
The Grand Trunk corporation is decidedly not working "in the public interest." In fact, since its takeover by a group of unethical financiers, it has been abused and run-down until it is on the verge of breakdown. The safety, health and sanity of the clacksmen who run the towers is utterly disregarded. As the clacks are the only reliable long-distance communication, this is no small matter.
Finally saddled with his worst nightmare, a real job, Von Lipwig learns that his mastery of words and dangerous charm can be put to good ends. He also encounters face to face one of the secondary victims of an earlier scam. When he meets Adora Belle Dearheart, formerly employed by a bank where he passed a bad check, he realizes his innocent little games really do destroy lives. But personal responsibility, though important, is not the main point of this novel.
Deftly maneuvering his way around inept employees (exactly three of them) and an uncountable pile-up of work left undone, Von Lipwig manages a sparkling resuscitation of Ankh-Morpork's post office. But he finally finds himself head to head with Reacher Gilt, chairman of the Grand Trunk. Pratchett's deadly satire on the corporate (and governmental) abuse of language takes off when the (semi-)retired con man reads Gilt's public announcements concerning his company:
"Like an apprentice staring at the work of a master, he read Reacher Gilt's words on the still-damp newspaper. . . . you had to admire the way perfectly innocent words were mugged, ravished, stripped of all true meaning and decency, and then sent to walk the gutter . . . No one was sorry for anything, because no living creature had done anything wrong . . . bad things had happened . . . and 'were to be regretted.'"
Anyone who doesn't find these words familiar has obviously never heard a government report concerning war, a tyrant's justification for mass slaughter or an executive announcement of lay-offs. Few things are uglier than the language used to mask an ugly truth. The simplest and most truthful name for the "spin doctors" who specialize in such words is, as Pratchett points out, con men.
Although Pratchett does surrender to a bit of deus ex machina here and there in this novel, the climax of the novel is well-earned and genuine. Any author who can convincingly depict the final heroics done by a group of clerks shuffling paperwork deserves a rich round of applause.
Book Review: Start a good addiction
Summary: 5 Stars
If you have never read a Terry Pratchett Discworld book, start with Going Postal. You will be hooked and you will want to read them all.Book Review: Strong themes
Summary: 5 Stars
For me, Pratchett has nearly single-handedly steered genre fiction into deeper and theme-ier waters. I love his guards and witches and Nac Mac Feegle, but the last couple of books to come out of his head, Monstrous Regiment and Going Postal have forced me to construct a dais on top of the old one for his new throne.
Book Review: The con is on [in a good way]
Summary: 5 Stars
This book was a pleasure to read: genuinely funny, some insightful social commentary, and the plot kept me guessing.
There are a couple of levels of enjoyment here. As comedic social commentary, there are parodies of capitalism, enlightened despotism, and over-zealous obsessive-compulsive collectors. There are also two con men in top form trying to out-sucker each other -- something I've always had a soft-spot for.
If you're a fan of the Discworld milieu, Going Postal will not disappoint. If you're new to Pratchett, the book is still enjoyable (even if a lot of the jokes won't make as much sense without the continuity context from knowing the setting.)
Highly recommended.
Book Review: This is a good one to pick up
Summary: 4 Stars
Moist Van Lipwig, a notorious criminal, finds himself before Lord Vetinari who provides him with a couple of choices: die or become postmaster general. His choice to live sticks him with reviving a post office that has languished for decades. He also inherits a mad old postman and his bumbling apprentice.
This is one of those books where delightful madness, lighthearted jokes, and masterful parody swirl into a wonderful tale. Hats off to Mr. Pratchett.
The characters are fully developed and possess amusing quirks. I especially liked Lord Vetinari who is a most malevolently benevolent and brilliant despot. I think it helped that I listened to this as an audiobook. The voices of each cast member was excellently done.
If you haven't read a Pratchett, this is a good one to pick up. If you have read Pratchett and enjoyed him, this is definitely one you shouldn't miss.