Postcards is a story on many levels. On the surface it's the story of a Vermont farmer's son, Loyal Blood, whose girlfriend dies in the act of being raped by him. To avoid having to explain any of this, he runs away, telling his family that the girl, Billy is going with him, and spends the next 40 years as an itinerant worker, sending home postcards from time to time. On another level, it's the story of "progress" and the social changes that took place between 1944 and 1984 in the American way of life, electricity, transport, conservation etc. I found it also the story of that part of each person who has something in their soul that they don't want anyone else to find out about. The story of the mistake, the wrong choice, and the effort taken to cover that up, often all throughout our lives, when all things would be easier (so it seems from an outside point of view) to be honest and seek forgiveness right from the start. ( )

Another captivating story, or set of stories, with very original characters and real insight into how life changes them and makes them what they are, yet still leaves elements of mystery. But as depressing in many ways as Accordion Crimes - it seems Proulx thinks the worst of humanity in general, as her characters seem to have the very opposite of redeeming features. There's something I find frustrating about her style, in which details of crucial, but sordid incidents are simply omitted and (to my mind) too much is left to the imagination. In this book, I never understand what happens between the central character and his lover that leaves her dead - was it an accident or murder and how and why? ( )

I think what struck me about Postcards was how powerful the language was. While the plot was hard and gritty, the way it was told was strong and confident. Almost like someone yelling emphatically, if that makes sense. It's the story of a farming family in New England. They are torn apart by the departure of the eldest son, Loyal. He has just killed his girlfriend and left her body under a pile of rocks in a nearby field. While the death was an accident, Loyal's leaving and the slow disintegration of the farm was not. Tragedy follows the family wherever they go. The beauty of the saga is how each chapter is punctuated with a postcard. It's these postcards that illustrate the changing times both for the nation and the family. Loyal often writes home, careful not to tell anyone where he really is. He continues to stay disconnected and this is apparent in what he shares with his family. ( )

Although all the other books I've recorded so far are just the ones I've read since I started recording them on LibraryThing, I wanted to add 'Postcards' because it seems to me to be one of the very best books I've read. I prefer it to Proulx's more commercially successful 'The Shipping News'. In 'Postcards' her characterisation has a wide-ranging depth, Loyal Blood's trek through life striking a chord as he struggles with what he has accidentlly done. The repetitions in the book gradually develop the themes, something I like as it allows the reader to make their own way through the novel and pick up what's there - and I also like how challenging it is in different subtle ways (like the draining of the swamp to create the future Disneyland that never gets named) with the Indian's book whose significance I mainly understood. Then there's the way the postcards at the start of each chapter throw an important light on other parts of the book - such as the car in a tree which lets the reader know that Loyal was wrong about being robbed - but there's no direct connection explicitly made. ( )

This is really quite a fine work. I am wholly impressed by the world Proulx reveals. Existential without the weepy woe-is-me flavour that pervades the genre. A classic at the outset, this novel spans five decades of failed pursuit of the American Dream. A considerable achievement for any author, this is a brilliant work as a debut. Nicely done in every regard. ( )