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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
No More Mail!, August 4, 2002
I'm making an effort to read most of Bentley Little's books as fast as I possibly can. To me, Little is an absolute master of a strange mix of horror, humor, and general wackiness. This book, "The Mailman," is one of Little's earliest efforts (written in 1991), and it looks like it is the first of several Little novels, such as "The Store" and "The Association," that employ brilliant black comedy in order to poke fun at the staples of American culture. In these novels, Little takes mundane scenarios such as shopping or the post office, and turns them into hilariously horrific tales of murder and mayhem. His goal is to show how little power we have over our modern lives, and how close we are to allowing our institutions to become bulwarks of fascism. This isn't to say that Little doesn't write straight horror; I know now that he does, but his books can be broken down into two distinct categories: horror (such as "The Walking"), and social satire ("The Mailman," "The Store," etc.). Of Little's social satire books that I've read, "The Mailman" is the darkest and most effective of the lot."The Mailman" is set in Willis, Arizona. The main characters are Doug, a schoolteacher starting his summer break, his wife Tritia, and his son Billy. Life is looking promising until the local postman, Bob Ronda, commits suicide. His replacement, a strange looking man named John Smith, never really seems to fit in. His attitude is suspicious, and he delivers the mail much earlier than his predecessor did. Soon, the mail begins to change. Instead of finding the usual junk mail and bills, customers find letters from long lost friends, or unexpected refunds. It also becomes apparent that Smith is constantly changing his delivery times. Mail starts appearing in the box in the middle of the night. Those that make trips to the post office to complain to Howard, the local postmaster, discover that Smith is running the front counter. Howard, they are told, is sick and won't be in today. Things go from a nuisance to downright sinister when hateful and perverted mail starts showing up. I won't go any farther with this description because I don't want to spoil the fun for you. But by the time the town is chanting, "no more mail!" you'll be cheering right along with them. The main and secondary characters are drawn well. The only character I had trouble with was Tritia, Doug's wife. She became so annoying to me that I actually wished her harm at the hands of the mailman. Her health food kick, which Little plays up throughout the story, at times seemed to be the real horror story of the book. Maybe it's because I grew up in a household where health food was crammed down my throat, but I found Tritia to be the type of woman that rhymes with the word "witch." Fortunately, Doug and Billy are more sympathetic characters. My favorite part of the book is the local post office. As the town slowly disintegrates, the post office becomes more and more hideous. By the time the final showdown takes place, Little has taken the post office so far over the top that I laughed for hours recalling the detailed descriptions of the place. If you have never read Bentley Little, this book is a good place to start. "The Mailman" introduces you to Little the satirist, while still delivering some good gore and a few effective shocks. One thing is definite: once the Bentley Little bug bites, it bites deep. You'll want to rush out and read all of his stuff. Don't be afraid of this condition; it is quite harmless and can be easily treated.
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by Bentley Little
by Bentley Little
by Bentley Little
by Bentley Little
by Bentley Little
