The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman by Denis Thériault (2004)

Bilodo had been intercepting her letters for two years now, and whenever he spotted one while sorting his post, he always experienced the same shock, the same shiver of awe. He would quietly slip that letter inside his jacket and only allow himself to show any emotion once he was alone on the road, turning the envelope over and over, fingering the exciting promise.

Secretly steaming open envelopes and reading the letters inside, Bilodo has found an escape from his lonely and routine life as a postman. When one day he comes across a mysterious letter containing only a single haiku, he finds himself avidly caught up in the relationship between a long-distance couple, who write to each other using only beautiful poetry. He feasts on their words, vicariously living a life for which he longs. But it will only be a matter of time before his world comes crashing down around him…

Author: Denis Thériault is a writer born on August 24, 1959 on the north shore of the Gulf of St Lawrence, near Sept-Iles, Quebec. Denis Thériault has a degree in psychology and is an award-winning screenwriter who lives with his family in Montreal. Denis Thériaul’s first novel, L’iguagne (The Iguana), was published to great critical acclaim and won three major literary prizes. The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman is his second novel.

My thoughts: I read this book last June but restarted in February and read it in a couple of days. This is going to sound silly, but I’ve always been fascinated by letters and enjoy thinking about the bits of life and news they carry. I loved The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman, a beautiful, tragic and touching book. I found the characters delightful and Bilodo very touching. Although the book only has a hundred pages, it is not simple to read. It is brilliantly written, but requires concentration to immerse yourself in the text.
This is a story of obsession and love. The central character is Bilodo, a twenty-seven years old postman, a loner, who escapes from his monotonous life by creating a parallel reality. Bilodo has taken to stealing people's mail, steaming open the envelopes and reading the letters inside. Thus it is that he comes across Ségolène's letters. She is corresponding with Grandpré, a master poet, and each of their letters is composed of haikus. The simplicity and elegance of their poems move Bilodo and he begins to fall in love with Ségolène. By a stroke of fate, in the form of Grandpré’s death, Bilodo takes huge risks to stay in contact with Ségolène, a Guadeloupean teacher. He takes over her deceased correspondent’s apartment, immersing himself in Grandpré’s personality and learning the art of Japanese haiku poetry.