The protagonist, Moist Von Lipwig, is just the tip of that particular iceberg. He also has a similar tendency to using absolutely ridiculous names for his characters. Pratchett writes with a wild irreverence and wit that reminded me of Hitchhiker’s Guide. I must say that I definitely agree with this opinion. Many readers have compared Terry Pratchett’s works to those of Douglas Adams and Kurt Vonnegut. As a great lover of the written word myself, I loved the scene when von Lipwig delivers a letter after fifty years to a surprising and heartwarming conclusion. The idea that words have a certain power of their own, and that they can only fulfill their destiny by being read, is a running current that underlines Going Postal. It is obvious that Pratchett is a great lover of the written word. Published in 2005, this novel could easily be seen as a parallel to the rampant growth of the internet and the burgeoning “dot-com” bubble that would inevitably crash and leave many in dire straits. Pratchett uses the clacks and the greedy people who own it to illustrate the dangers of unchecked technological advancement. It took me quite awhile to visualize how these clacks work, but eventually I began to see it as a kind of telegraph system that uses light instead of cables to transmit messages across long distances. Central to the plot is the Grand Trunk company, which control a communication system known as the “clacks”. One rather amusing scene involves the protagonist in a rough and tumble bar, allotting points to the various patrons as they escalate their violent acts throughout the night. I enjoyed the descriptions of the city of Ankh-Morpork a a kind of Wild West outpost on the brink of becoming a civilized city. Thankfully, this book takes place in a self-contained world, and I had no trouble adjusting to the world of Pratchett’s creation. This month’s pick in my book club, Going Postal was my first foray into Terry Pratchett’s insanely popular Discworld series. Normally jumping into a series in the thirty-third installment would make me insufferably cringy, but I consoled myself that this novel is the first one centered around Moist Von Lipwig. And there’s a possibility that he is hearing whispers coming from the abandoned letters piled up in the post office. And he thinks there may be someone trying to kill him.

To make matter worse, he must compete against the Grand Trunks, which have a monopoly on communication in the city. He finds the post office covered with pigeon droppings and undelivered mail. Yet somehow he finds himself alive and working in the government as Postmaster General. At least, his alias is dead, hanged for committing crimes against the city of Ankh-Morpork.

Going postal discworld