Going Postal

This was a fun, enjoyable read, with some subtle social critique, outlandish characters getting into even more outlandish situations. It was the perfect blend of fun escapism and some intellectually satisfying social critique. A humorous story with the right amount of depth.

I love Pratchett’s work so much in general that it’s really hard to pick just one. His work was side-splittingly funny but also the very best kind of satire. He had pointed things to say about society while also making you care deeply about his characters and making you laugh until your face hurts. Do you know how hard that is?

In this book, the protagonist is a con man forced into trying to resuscitate a dying postal service. He’s petty evil, the kind of selfish who has never thought about what happens to his victims. By the end, you… show more.

Moist von Lipwig – no jokes, please, he’s heard all of them – is a con man, and I love him. His talents are charm, psychology, forgery, a little bit of pickpocketry, and running away faster than his mark can chase him. When he’s forced to fix his city’s defunct (and possibly haunted) post office, he triumphs with people skills and sheer chutzpah.

Terry Prachett’s sprawling Discworld series, of which this is a part, is full of satire, but it never ceases to amaze me how funny he can be without being mean-spirited. I love many of his characters, but… show more.

I’m going to end on a happy note with Going Postal. This book is part of Terry Pratchett’s expansive Discworld series, but can be read standalone and actually served as my entry point.

Moist Von Lipwig (gross name to read, but appropriate) is a con man that tries so hard to do the wrong thing, and yet inevitably ends up an accidental hero. Pratchett twists common tropes by making the main character the hero to everyone but himself. Moist sees himself as being purely self-serving, which makes it that much more delightful when he ends up helping others. 

Pratchett’s humor… show more.

Terry Prachett is my favorite author, and Going Postal is my favorite of his many novels set in his imaginary Discworld, an alternate universe Prachett created to spoof traditional fantasy and human foolishness. Moist Lipwig, a dashing con man, is heading for the gallows, but is given a second chance. He must save Ank-Morpork’s derelict postal service. Moist (what a name!) tries to get out of the job, but I love the way he gradually has a change of heart and takes on the challenge with his usual flare. There is romance, danger, and an amazing satire on the internet.… show more.

The Discworld books are the best kind of serious play, exploring aspects of our everyday world by turning them upside down, filling them with dwarfs and vampires, and embedding them in a non-stop action story – which somehow manages to say intelligent and important things about the central topic. Going Postal is about a clash between Ankh-Morpork’s government-run Post Office and the privately-owned clacks service (like email but with different technology). Both sides get a fair shot and the conflict is resolved by an almost magical piece of communication by a trickster who understands the magic of language.

Hell is a 9-5 and this book proves it. If your choices for the afterlife were a dark void of nothingness or working in customer service, you may need some time to ponder your options. There is no need to wax poetic about Terry Pratchett; his volumes stand for themselves. However, I can’t think of another author who could write a ‘dying giving the main character a new lease on life’ story that doesn’t make me want to roll my eyes.