Mass Market Paperback, 416 pages
English language
Published Sept. 20, 2005 by HarperTorch.
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, …
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.
Con artist Moist von Lipwig gets a second chance at life if he'll be the postmaster of Ankh-Morpork's ailing postal service. Along the way he grows and does the "better thing" instead of what would be immediately satisfying.
... Das könnte zumindest die Einstellung des Protagonisten sein.
Ab Die Post ist amüsant. Richtig herzhaft gelacht habe ich aber erst im Finale der Geschichte. Was soll ich noch mehr sagen? Es ist halt ein Pratchett: bissig und mit einem guten Blick für die Unzulänglichkeiten der menschlichen Gesellschaft.
Themen in diesem Buch sind: - Philatelie - Golems - Trickbetrug - Internet + Hacking - Wirtschaftskriminalität
Content warning spoiling part of the main story
An easy and exciting read, but: 1. The book is drenched in casual sexism and fatphobia 2. There is an underlying current of support for the state and a belief that state power is, at the end of the day, good. Kinda understandable given the ultracapitalist usamerican context, but it is still a reactionary idea and the book still promotes it in the narrative. Still, this was an enjoyable experience overall. Reading Terry Pratchett is fun. Oh, and the whole thing about working conditions being awful in the Grand Trunk and them changing bc of an external savior, the protagonist, and not bc of labor organising and unions and strikes. It's a reactionary narrative as well, but it does make for an exciting story.
I wouldn't attempt to rank all the Discworld books. But I definitely prefer the later ones to the the early ones. I appreciate that the characters from the watch are are visible but we only see them through an outsiders eyes, which is a nice touch.
I confess that 'Going Postal' was never one of my favourite of the Discworld novels but re-reading it for the first time (I think) since I first bought it revealed some nice bits of Pratchett humour which I'd forgotten. The passing references to the gods particularly amused me. I'm still not convinced that Moist von Lipwig is one of his best heroes but I do have 'Making Money' to hand, which also features him, so I'll give that a go and see if Terry can convince me.
Possibly my favorite of his books so far
One of my favourite Discworld books so far! It is funny as usual, but also incredibly deep and touching and smart and weirdly political as well. The golems have become complex characters, pondering freedom and happiness. The swindler must be good to keep up the facade of being good. The postal system faces technology and hackers are involved in its downfall that implies a rescue and rejuvenation of the system itself.
Definitely Terry Pratchett at his very best! Will be returning to this one for sure.
Very funny snarky fantasy that's a blast in the way it all comes together.
Why did I dislike this one so much? I kept wondering as I read, is this really Sir Terry, or is it poor fanfic? I found it heavyhanded, with an unpleasant aggressive edge and none of the warmth I expect in his books. It does improve: the last third develops themes of moral ambiguity with undertones of growth and loss... and redemption, although not enough to carry over into redeeming the entire book. Just enough to bump to three stars.
In-Genre Rating: 8.5
Global Rating: 9
Reading Fun: 7.5
Maybe not the strongest disk world novel, but I did read it twice so I am not complaining. Full of low and high brow parody (mostly of the post office) and awesome obsolete technological rabbit holes like optical telegraphs.Quite characteristically for the Lipwig books, the tension lingers around for a while, although the humor mostly makes up for it. Worth it for Anghammarad's story alone.
I greatly enjoyed this one. It's probably one of my favorites that aren't to do with the Lancre witches who are generally my favorites.
The Discworld novels are often somewhat satirical in nature, but to be honest, sometimes the satire bit goes over my head and it's just a fun story. This one, however, I totally got it, probably because I have in recent years been finding myself in a situation where I recognised some of the elements Pratchett was dealing with when it came to the Grand Trunk. Every now and then a quote would ring true, and nine times out of ten it was something Reacher Gilt said to the board that made me think, "yes, that's how they seem to actually think."
On top of that, of course, it doesn't hurt that it's as hilarious as ever with any number of bizarre yet lovable characters. Mr. Groat …
I greatly enjoyed this one. It's probably one of my favorites that aren't to do with the Lancre witches who are generally my favorites.
The Discworld novels are often somewhat satirical in nature, but to be honest, sometimes the satire bit goes over my head and it's just a fun story. This one, however, I totally got it, probably because I have in recent years been finding myself in a situation where I recognised some of the elements Pratchett was dealing with when it came to the Grand Trunk. Every now and then a quote would ring true, and nine times out of ten it was something Reacher Gilt said to the board that made me think, "yes, that's how they seem to actually think."
On top of that, of course, it doesn't hurt that it's as hilarious as ever with any number of bizarre yet lovable characters. Mr. Groat in hospital, for example, just about nearly killed me.
One of Pratchett's finest. Moist is a thoroughly enjoyable character and you get a decent helping of Vetinari to round everything else. If you're a computing history nerd, you'll find the entire phreaking/hacker culture/Bell Labs nods and metaphors to be enjoyable as well.
finished the audio book again :)
One of the last truly great books in the Discworld series. Funny, insightful, and charming.
Reread 6/15/13
