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Reproduced as graphics that preface narrative sections, the postcards in this novel -- communications between the Blood family and their son Loyal, as well as other personal mail and advertising material -- progressively reveal the insecurity of the rural Bloods in the changing post-war world. Loyal has fled into exile after an accidental killing, but cannot find a haven of rest. The family patriarch, Mink, writes vitriolic letters to local agricultural agents when the real object of his ire is his absent son. Loyal's brother sends off for an artificial arm to replace the one he lost in an accident; his sister answers a mail order ad for a husband. Through the mail, Proulx inventively reveals the inchoate longings of a difficult existence in this winner of the 1993 PEN/Faulkner Award.
From Publishers Weekly
In this poignant first novel by Proulx ( Heart Songs and Other Stories ), artfully misspelled postcards form the tenuous links between ill-fated young trapper Loyal Blood and his family--Mink and Jewelle, Dub and Mernelle--who eke a meager existence from their ancestral Vermont farm. When Loyal accidentally kills his saucy redheaded sweetheart Billy while making love in the fields, he hides her body in a stone-covered fox den. Abruptly he tells his family that he and Billy are heading west to "make a new start." In a vengeful rage his father Mink shoots Loyal's cows. Loyal endures harsh years of self-imposed exile as, from 1944 to the '80s, he roves from job to job--mining, fossil picking, trapping--each authoritatively detailed. Racked with gagging seizures whenever he tries to touch another woman, sick in his lungs, Loyal doggedly accepts his lot without complaint. Back home the violent, feckless Bloods fall into ruin, attempting arson, serving jail terms and losing the farm, which is sold for trailer parks. Flurries of postcards fly, both personal and commercial: brother Dub answers one for an artificial limb, desperate sister Mernelle responds to a lonely lumberman's ad for a wife. Proulx writes a rich, sensuous prose; she captures the earthy, hard-bitten voices of men and women resigned to travail and documents the passing of an epoch. If there is a fault, it is the overabundance of minor characters randomly introduced into the narrative.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A first of many,
By Matt (Raleigh, NC United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Postcards (Paperback)
Postcards was the first of many books that I actually finished. I have tried to read many "good recommendation" books and never quite finished them, due to a lack of interest. What drew me to complete postcards was Proulx style of writing and prose. It was very interesting although I found I had to re-read many parts of the book, just part of my short attention span I guess. The downfalls of the book was character confusion, by the time I got halfway through the book I was confused about the characters in the Blood family, and of the ownership of traits. The most dreadful of all is the unanswered anticipation that was built up in the first page of the book, I felt let down and angered that I had put the time to finish the book and never had my questions answered. By the time I was three quarters through the book I realized that this was to be. I wanted to throw the book into a busy intersection, but refrained due to the fact it wasn't my book. It was lent to me by a friend who hadn't read it yet. Oddly enough I plan on reading it again to get my characters right, and I will check out "The Shipping News". Maybe this is the best compliment I can give the author, I hated the story but I loved the style. Very vivid.
2.0 out of 5 stars
I have to agree with some others..,
By Tonya Speelman "Hoarder of books" (Goldendale WA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Postcards (Paperback)
this book just didn't do it for me. I haven't read Shipping News yet, and wasn't going to after reading this book. But after reading some other reviews, maybe I will give that a try and it will be better. I sure hope so! I could never figure out who was talking and was confused a LARGE part of the time reading this book on what was going on. I hated reading the postcards at the beginning of a new chapter to find out what was going to happen. I really don't understand the meaning of this book, but am glad for one thing. IT'S OVER!
4.0 out of 5 stars
No return address,
By
This review is from: Postcards (Paperback)
Annie Proulx's first novel uses the vehicle of postcards, often from the main character Loyal Blood, to introduce most chapters. What is striking about the cards is there is never a return address, with Loyal cutting himself off from contact from his family, but still wanting to let them know his whereabouts (with a rack of stolen bear postcards). I was hoping for some return, or public discovery of the event that precipitated Loyals exodus. The descriptions of mining and archeology in the west were perhaps the best, but the writing of the farm in Vermont did not reveal as strong feeling of place. The writing in sometimes very lyrical for example ".. her own house showed up as a slatternly lean of paintless clapboards, the porch slipping away like melting butterscotch". The vignettes almost read more like loosely connected short stories, than a novel. The male characters seem most developed, with the women offering less. Readers of this may enjoy Robert Olen Butler's upcoming book " Had a Good Time : Stories from American Postcards " which has fictional short stories focused around an actual postcard
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