If ever there was a book custom made for book club discussions, it is THE POSTMISTRESS by Sarah Blake. I read the book while traveling over the last couple of weeks and as I read it, I kept wavering back and forth about whether or not I liked it. But then... when I was finished all I wanted to do was talk about it. And that's just what a book club needs, isn't it? Something you're not sure about it, something you want to talk about, something that makes you think.
THE POSTMISTRESS takes place during World War II and is the story of three women whose lives intersect. Iris is a spinster and the dedicated postmaster for a small town on the Cape. Emma has just moved to town with her docotor husband when he decides he must go to London to help. And Frankie Bard is a radio announcer who is broadcasting the human side of the war from the trains moving across Europe.
The book raises so many questions about the meaning of war and of life and of purpose. And then there is something quite intricate in the idea of the characters participating in history, those tasked with telling their story or moving their story along and those who wait to hear the story. Is it all random and uncontrollable and fated or does it "all add up" as William (Emma's husband) says. Do the observers have an obligation to tell the story and will the distant listeners pay attention? Can those observers and movers of the story affect the story by when and how they tell it? Should they?
As I'm sure you can tell I'm still working through my thoughts on this one (though it might also be the jet lag). I suggest a big bottle of wine and lots of snacks for the night your group talks about THE POSTMISTRESS -- I forsee a long and wonderful discussion!
Have you read this one yet? Would you choose it for your book club? What did you think? As always, I'd love to get your thoughts!
-- Dana Barrett, Contributing Editor
