Kirk Farber

Sid is funny. Sid works as a telemarketer selling “great getaways” to foreign countries, yet Sid doesn’t really doesn’t travel. Sid has funny conversations with his dog, Zero (though Sid can’t really explain how, when or where he got the dog). He is waiting forever for his CAT scan results, to tell him when and if he’s dying since he randomly smells lilacs and talks to his dead mother in an old bottle of Boudreaux. His annoying next door neighbor, Mary Jo, a juvenile brat taunts show more him incessantly. He digs a hole in his backyard to further his spa mud bath fix and has a serious problem not accepting credit card offers.

Sid strikes up a relationship with Gerald, the postman neighbor, who has built a bomb shelter. Instead of food, and unable to answer the question – if you can only read one book for the rest of your life – what would you read; Gerald has outfitted the shelter with aisle upon aisle of books. And one more thing, Sid has been receiving postcards from his (most likely) dead girlfriend. He starts a trek through Paris and Spain to try and understand the origin of these cards but is left with only questions.

Sid is engaging and a little bit sad. He is not sure where his life is going, not sure what he’s doing, and not sure what happened with his relationship with Zoe, the sender of the cards. He is brutally honest, heartfelt, quirky, and…lost. He often misinterprets basic conversations - two in particular (with his doctor and his boss) where I seriously laughed (very loudly) during my morning commute. You want to cheer for him; you hope he emerges from his mud bath, cleaner, happier, and ready to brave the world again. And at the end, when there are answers to the questions that have been mounting throughout the book, you understand why he’s in pain, why he’s lost, and maybe how he can heal.

I felt ready for the conclusion when it came. I didn’t feel shortchanged or slighted, as some of the other reviews point out. I thought Farber tied up all the loose ends and brought around the resolution well and timely. show less

This addictive odd book grabbed me from the first line. The chapters are brief but our narrator, Sid, is warm, interesting, neurotic, funny and ultimately, very likable. I cared about his crazy. This book could have easily gone into cloyingly quirky but instead kept it's slightly melancholy edge. There's real sadness, heartache, and pain in Sid's adventure and I was an eager companion the entire way.

Infused with dark sarcasm and witty humor, Postcards from a Dead Girl is a fabulous and extraordinarily written debut novel from Kirk Farber. It’s a completely unique, page-turning book about a hypochondriac who receives postcards from around the globe from his ex-girlfriend Zoe. Thoughtful, perhaps. Even sweet. However, there’s a clincher: the postcards were sent one year ago, throwing Sid into quite a conundrum. He sets off on his own investigation to London, Paris, Barcelona, New show more Jersey [!] to find out the back-story how this late delivery is remotely possible. In the meantime he finds support from his dog Zero, his protective doctor sister, his neighbor, postal carrier Gerard, and his dead mother. Tapping into universal neuroses and dreams, Farber writes with a clever and superbly observational tone. Postcards from a Dead Girlis biting, disturbing and hysterical. Trust me: it’s a winning combination. show less

How often do you get to read quirky stories about people inured in their own inner stories...written by people you know?

Kirk's story is just fun, and though the narrative is very punchy that sometimes makes the whole thing feel like the set up for a joke (didja hear the one about the guy who couldn't get enough of car washes?), it is tinged with a realistic sadness that is driving the protagonist character (Sid) to distraction, and morbid distraction at that.

And besides, Kirk's a great guy. show more Go read his book! show less