Postcards(novel)
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Annie Proulx |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
Publication date | 1992 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 340 pp |
| ISBN | 0-00-654668-4 |
PostcardsisE. Annie Proulx's 1992 novel about the life and travels of Loyal Blood across theAmerican West.Postcardshas been likened byDavid Bradleyto aGreat American Novel.[1]It is the predecessor to Proulx's award-winningThe Shipping News.Postcardscuts between stories of Loyal's travels and the stories of his family back in Vermont, to whom he sends irregularpostcardsabout his life and experiences. Loyal never leaves a return address, so is unable to hear back from his family and therefore misses all the news from home, including the death of his father and mother, the sale of the family farm, and the marriage of his sister to a virtual stranger.
The novel's content provides a personal view of America in the 20th Century, dealing with themes of war,industrialization,conservationand theAmerican Dream.It also provides a glimpse into the way a family unit is slowly destroyed due to this arrival of a new age.Fateis one of the chief themes of the novel: no matter how hard one works for a better life, fate may alter the outcome. Thus, the book has anaturalisticperspective.
Proulx wrote most of the novel while in residence at theUcross Foundationin northern Wyoming, and moved to Wyoming a few years later.[2]
References[edit]
- ^David Bradley, "A Family Running on Empty", The New York Times, March 22, 1992
- ^Proulx, Annie."Bio".Annieproulx.com.Archived fromthe originalon 2007-01-17.
External links[edit]
- Proulx, E. Annie. "Postcards".The Literary Encyclopedia.Ed. Robert Clark, Emory Elliott and Janet Todd.
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