Updated on January 26th, 2025
I purchased The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman by Denis Thériault as part of my Barnes & Noble Book Haul after it was recommended to me a while back, and I wanted to share my thoughts on the book here and if I would recommend it.
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Swirling like water against rugged rocks, time goes around and around.
The story of The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman follows the lonely and quirky postman Bilodo as he steals and snoops in people’s mail. He begins to fall in love with a woman named Ségolène as he discovers her haikus she has been sending to a poet named Gaston. Bilodo then witnesses a tragic accident involving the poet, which prompts him to impersonate the poet and continue writing to Ségolène.
The novel is roughly around 100 pages, so it does not take that long to read, and I think that is a great length for the story. However, the writing style includes numerous long drawn-out sentences, which takes away from the appeal of the story. The book was originally written in French, which could contribute to possible problems in the translation and the very long sentences, but I am unsure if the original version included long sentences as well.
Nevertheless, the haikus and tankas included in the story are beautiful and enjoyable to read. Bilodo as a character is intriguing, but at times he seems too obsessed with Ségolène while Ségolène remains a mysterious woman who is unaware of the truth of what happened to Gaston. The ending of the novel was unexpected and thought-provoking and concludes the story well.
Overall, the novel was a captivating love story between a postman and a mysterious woman, and despite the long drawn-out sentences, I would recommend reading it, especially for the haikus and tankas.
You put some very fascinating points there.
The premise sounds so cool 🙂 I need this 🙂