Going Postal
2004
- fiction
- civil service
- postal service
- discworld (imaginary place)
- fantasy fiction
- drama (dramatic works by one author)
- drama
- english fantasy drama
- satire
- english literature
The story
Suddenly, condemned arch-swindler Moist von Lipwig found himself with a noose around his neck and dropping through a trapdoor into ... a government job? By all rights, Moist should be meeting his maker rather than being offered a position as Postmaster by Lord Vetinari, supreme ruler of Ankh-Morpork. Getting the moribund Postal Service up and running again, however, may prove an impossible task, what with literally mountains of decades-old undelivered mail clogging every nook and cranny of the broken-down post office. Worse still, Moist could swear the mail is talking to him. Worst of all, it means taking on the gargantuan, greedy Grand Trunk clacks communication monopoly and its bloodthirsty piratical headman. But if the bold and undoable are what's called for, Moist's the man for the job -- to move the mail, continue breathing, get the girl, and specially deliver that invaluable commodity that every being, human or otherwise, requires: hope.
What it’s like
Brisk, witty, and gently cluttered, like a cramped sorting office where every surface is buried under paper and somebody is always laughing at the chaos. The voice does most of the work: wry, quick-footed narration full of footnote-style asides, sharp dialogue, and comic set pieces that read like a farce that has wandered into a city of soot, rain-slick cobbles, smoke-choked chimneys and clacking telegraph towers. Pacing is lively and sprung, with short chapters that tumble forward, and the tone sits somewhere between a cheerful caper and a sly civics lesson. Its warmth is real underneath the jokes: a cynical con man slowly discovers he can care about a job, a city, and a few stubborn people who believe in doing things properly. Intensity is low to moderate: some menace from a ruthless corporate boss and a piratical enemy, a few brief scuffles and threats, but nothing graphic and no gore. It suits a rainy Sunday, a long commute, or a comfort reread, and it is for readers who enjoy witty satire, big-hearted rogues, and fantasy that is funny without being cruel.
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