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Going Postal | Rating | |
| A | |||
| Terry Pratchett | |||
| Series | Related Books | ||
| Discworld | The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Equal Rites, Mort, Sourcery, Wyrd Sisters, Pyramids, Guards! Guards!, Eric, Moving Pictures, Reaper Man, Witches Abroad, Small Gods, Soul Music, Feet of Clay, Interesting Times, Jingo, The Firth Elephant, Going Postal | ||
Moist von Lipwig was a con artist, and a darn good one at that. Which is exactly why Lord Vetinari, master of Ankh-Morpork, gave him a job. His task: bring back the city's Post Office, an institution that collpased a generation ago. In any normal world this would be a difficult but straightforward affair, but this is the Discworld. Moist won't just have to deal with thousands of undelivered letters, but also a cadre of not-quite-sane hereditary postmen, a peculiar building, and a gaggle of golems. Not to mention the Main Trunk, a semaphore company that frowns — very deeply frowns — at anything that might actually cost them money. Things like maintenance, or reasonable wages for its employees, for instance. And monopoly-breakers top the list by a long, long ways.
I think I have a new favorite character on the Discworld. Moist von Lipwig is exactly the sort that people love to read about. Driven, irreverent, and not just willing but positively eager to break the rules to achieve his goals. He tweaks the noses of both the Main Trunk and Lord Vetinari. And always in a manner that makes them look the fools. It's what everyone wishes they had the guts and charisma to do. Yet while Moist is a real character, he is not a card. He is simply a consumate showman, and it really comes out every time Moist puts another of his plans into action.
Going Postal is, at its heart, an underdog story — little man takes on big business. One man is trying to knock a huge but corrupt institution down a peg or two. And since Pratchett isn't famous for his tragedies, the reader can be fairly sure who will win in the end. The fun lies in seeing exactly how he does it. And thanks to his methods, it's quite fun indeed.
The book is never outright hilarious, rarely laugh-out-loud funny. But between the characters and the great story, it maintains a steady and high level of humor without ever getting outrageous. Going Postal is perhaps the first Discworld book in quite some time that I've liked entirely without any reservations, and that it looks like Moist will be making return appearances only adds to my glee.
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