Mailman

by J. Robert Lennon

Book Overview

Albert Lippinscott is resident of Nestor, New York - mailman extraordinaire. But Albert has something to hide: his unfortunate habit of reading other people's mail. Now his supervisors are onto his letter-hoarding compulsion and he will soon have to confront his life's failures.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393057313
• ISBN13: 9780393057317
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 483 Pages
• Weight: 1.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.2" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

A Great American Novel

This novel is a very contemporary American story, and to be pretty irreverent, is an uneasy hybrid of Kafka's "Metamorphosis" and Lawrence's "Sons and Lovers." Albert's life is one unending chain of uncomfortable moments and irritating distractions, sort of a neurotic nightmare, and yet a caricature of my own life. And by being a caricature of it, it allows me to laugh at myself a little more. And since I do see myself in Mailman, not something every reader will as much (fortunately for you) I am glad to be able to laugh. Albert Lippincot, our supremely frustrated protagonist, is a little bit of each of us; and Lennon seeks to allow me to make peace with that part. God bless you, Mr. Lennon. Lennon's prose is remarkable. His characterization skills are great, and he gives a feel for the world through one man's eyes that is both perceptive and which transmits pages in a few choice words. And a side note: Lennon's portrait of Albert's hometown of Nestor, New York, (loosely based on Ithaca, home of Lennon and of Cornell University) as Liberal Collegetown U.S.A. is so very dead on. I think that may be a block to some readers; if you haven't seen that phenomenon of the American college town, you may not believe how humorous a place it can be. Lennon looks at that self-absorbed, perpetually adolescent world with a wry humor. Me, I have been through it, and I share the same anguished chuckle along with the vegan pagans, or those who are self-possesssed enough to laugh at themselves. If you enjoyed this, my first recommendation would be "Adios Scheherezade," an early work of Donald Westlake which had aspirations toward serious literature, but mostly wound up with hilarity. Kind of like my life. I'd also recommend "Girlfriend in a Coma" by Douglas Coupland.

Brilliant writing

Writing a novel which delves into the inner psychic state of the main character as his life dissolves around him requires verve and imagination. That Lennon can bring it off - striding the fine line between self-indulgence and insight - is testimony to his skill as a novelist. If you live in a college town, you will recognize the familiar cast of misfits, academic wannabes and blue collar workers all trying to ply their trade against the background swagger of the SUV-owning students. Lennon captures it all - Mailman is perverse and brilliant and the sharpest writing you will find anywhere. Highly recommended.

Most Engaging and Exciting Novel I've Read in Years!

I happened to have happened upon this book because of the title. You see, I...am...a...Mailman! Seriously! Thats what I do to make money to feed and shelter my family. I read the other reviews here and decided to get the book - and oh boy! am I not disappointed! This guy Lennon (John Lennon at that!) can write. He's amazingly perceptive of both outer descriptive elements and the inner worlds we all create and inhabit. As I've been reading I keep realizing that this novel is what it feels like to be me, a human being with constant inner dialogue and reminincing going on. Plot? I don't know nor do I care whether there's a plot to this story. The main character ("Mailman"!) is my hero, a fully-alive all-American (yes!) in the year 2000. He is wonderfully real, and I wonder how Lennon, who is only 32 or 33, does it. I am deeply impressed with his wisdom and writing ability. Incredible attention to detail, yet the story never bogs down in it. It moves right along, and I hope it never ends. Reading a novel like this is like being in love - rare and wonderful.

Well-written and extremely readable

With much literary fiction, I find myself skimming, but not at all with MAILMAN -- it holds the reader's attention by being filled with beauty, emotions and reminscence, and still moving at a steady suspenseful pace. I felt myself reading and enjoying every word. Albert Lippincott is a man whose longings we feel, whose past we are intrigued by, and yet, to the customers whose mail he delivers, he is simply an anonymous Mailman. When he starts to read their mail, in one case slowing its delivery and possibly affecting a life -- and when a witness then complains about it -- we know trouble may be nigh. But there is so much more to MAILMAN.I took this on a trip to Vermont with me and finished it at home in my cozy apartment. I thank Mr. Lennon for providing me good reading, and I'm not one who has a lot of patience with most literary fiction.This is a clever and enjoyable book from an extremely talented young author. After having read this and the more lighthearted (but equally well-written) THE FUNNIES, I can't wait to see more from him!

Buy this book (or at least get it from your local library)

Take a break from the hegemony of the bestseller list and check out J. Robert Lennon's new novel, Mailman, his most complex and rewarding novel to date. Masterfully written, this is a funny yet thought provoking examination of the life and mind of a small town mailman. Lennon forces his readers to face the contradictions and hypocrisy normal human beings struggle with day to day in real life rather than offer easy, simple answers and one dimensional characters who always make the right decisions. Mailman is the best new novel I have read this fall. Go get yerself a copy of this book!