The Delivery

by Peter Mendelsund

Enter the world of the Delivery Boy, who must pedal his way to 5-star customer ratings--and, perhaps, freedom--in novelist and graphic designer Peter Mendelsund's The Delivery.

Countries go wrong, sometimes, and sometimes the luckier citizens of those countries have a chance to escape and seek refuge in another country--a country that might itself be in the process of going wrong.

In the bustling indifference of an unnamed city, one such citizen finds himself trapped working for a company that makes its money dispatching an army of undocumented refugees to bring the well-off men and women of this confounding metropolis their dinners. Whatever he might have been at home, this citizen is now a Delivery Boy: member of a new and invisible working class, pedaling his power-assist bike through traffic hoping for a decent tip and a five star rating.

He is decidedly a Delivery Boy; sometimes he even feels like a Delivery Baby; certainly he's not yet a Delivery Man, though he'll have to man-up if he wants to impress N.--the aloof dispatcher who sends him his orders and helps him with his English.

Can our hero avoid the wrath of his Supervisor, get the girl, and escape his indentured servitude? Can someone in his predicament ever get a happy ending? Who gets to decide? And who's telling this story, anyway?

Harrowing and hilarious, The Delivery is a fable for and about our times: an exploration of the ways language and commerce unites and isolates every one of us, native and immigrant both.

Genres: Fiction, Adult, Novels, Adult Fiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published February 9, 2021

About the author

Peter Mendelsund is the associate art director of Alfred A. Knopf and a recovering classical pianist. His designs have been described by The Wall Street Journal as being “the most instantly recognizable and iconic book covers in contemporary fiction.” He lives in New York.

Reviews

[Jake Bouma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like, I get it, but do I really get it? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Justin Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

Being a graphic designer myself, the name Peter Mendelsund conjures up his impressive catalog of book cover designs. Having not read his previous literary effort, I'm pleasantly surprised to find his writing also evokes the same 'aesthetic' as his visual work—deceivingly simple at first glance, but upon inspection is extremely layered with purposeful intricacy.

Peter Mendelsund not only writes his story, but also takes its visual form into consideration; you can literally see the narrative scope expanses as pages getting progressively filled. The Delivery opens on a minimalist note (Chapter 1 has less than 5 words), and closes with a seemingly endless passage spanning over 20 pages. Typesetting is an invisible design decision with substantial psychological impact on the reader; large text with generous line spacing makes you turn pages faster (thereby feeling like you're reading quicker), and small text with little to no spacing can be anxiety-inducing. It's an enlightening exercise seeing principles of graphic design being incorporated as a part of the storytelling.

Narratively speaking, The Delivery evokes fable storytelling in the likes of Italio Calvino, focusing on a delivery boy as he goes through the motion in an agnostic urban city. The simple premise gradually builds upon its foundation, layering in discussion on immigration, suppression, and optimism. As if that's not enough, the story ultimately goes surreal and 'meta', breaking the fourth wall and becomes a commentary on storytelling itself. This rule-bending plot structure might frustrates readers seeking a clear three acts read, and rightly so, even I find the (intentional) meandering writing in the last section a little dense to comprehend fully. But as a commitment to what the book sets out to be, I think it pulled it off quite flawlessly.

Perhaps I'm a little bias, being someone who had devoted his master degree thesis on exploring the physical book as a storytelling device. But I find The Delivery a very compelling execution of this concept, where word, and form of word, aligns and informs the story.

***This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!***

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Delivery presents an impressionistic view of life from the point of the person who performs the thankless chore of making life possible, specifically in these days of lockdown. I don't know when this was written, if it was before the pandemic turned this activity from luxury to necessity, and some of the revelations make me think it was earlier and with a different message in mind. It can be read with both interpretations in mind, and is an interesting take on the situation.

[Nathanimal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love this figurative-made-literal kind of thing. Let me see if I can unpack this a little. Spoilers ahead.

The protagonist, an immigrant bicycle "delivery boy," and the means of delivering the novel, starts from a non-verbal 2-star review and ends in a deluge of language. This form isn't arbitrary—the story is about journey from one extreme to the other, from alien to "conversant" (the last word of the book).

There's a lot about language in here. At the beginning the delivery boy, for whom English is a second language, is locked out. Like any newcomer speaking a new language, whether that's figurative or literal, he is delivering near-anonymous packages to destinations he is largely locked out of. The language/culture almost seems designed to create this very effect.

But our hero delivery boy, through a kind of . . . unpacking process (again fig-made-lit, and very clever) makes the language his own.

This could've easily drowned in its own clever juices, but I found the story, and even the postmodern modulations between intrusive narrator and protagonist, pretty rich and human.

I bought this not realizing that I'd already read a book by this writer, Same Same, which I also gave 5 stars. So I guess I really like this guy. I've now been to his wikipedia page and realize he's also a famous book cover designer, the designer behind the face-lift of Kafka's books a number of years back, and he's even a classically trained pianist or some crap. I'm sorry, but that is waaaay too much talent for a single individual. I considered docking him a star just for making me feel bad about myself. I'm not above that.

[Madeleine Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

weird book! i feel a little misled by the publisher's summary, which calls it "harrowing and hilarious." harrowing i kind of get, but hilarious?? no. may be on me for missing the joke, but i just didn't see the humor in the what's really a sad reality for so many immigrants/refugees. mendelsund did make me care about "delivery boy" but i didn't really get the first-person interjections, and had trouble finishing it. it could all be reader error, but this one wasn't for me.

[David Jacobson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Delivery is an opaque conceptual novel that can be read on at least three levels. The first is as a bleak testament to the inhuman working conditions of a refugee who has been trafficked to a wealthy city to deliver packages. The second is a meditation on the role of language in our inner lives. And the third is a contemplation of a particular theory of language and meaning, namely that laid out in Ludwig Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations.

At the first level, the book is mostly a success. We never learn the name of the delivery boy, nor where he has come from, nor even where he is now. Yet, his pain, and his optimism, and then my pain in feeling that he might be naively optimistic kept me turning the pages of this short book. At least until the deus-ex-machina ending.

At the second level, the book tries to bite off a lot. Our delivery boy has come to this new land without knowing its language. Without the words to process what is happening, the early chapters are terse and made up just of raw data. "Third delivery. An indifferent man; a customary tip. (No stars.). The sun came out." As he picks up the language, the writing becomes more expansive, eventually spilling into final paragraphs that are pages long. "He knew that a happy life was a headlong life and a fluent life." Yet, all the action of the novel takes place in a single day, which is too quickly for such a change to take place. The change must have been accelerated for dramatic effect. To account for the origin of this dramatic effect (at least as I read it), Mendelsund adds another character, who is the narrator (or the author), and who frequently interrupts with his own backstory, which happens to be nearly identical to that of the delivery boy. Both are refugees, separated in the process of fleeing their countries from young loves who differ only in the color of their hair. Thus, (at least as I see it) the delivery boy's story is the narrator's story, transposed into a contemporary milieu. But I worry, having finished the book, that I may have read deeply into something that is not actually there.

The idea of such a transposition also featured prominently in Mendelsund's magisterial first novel, Same Same, which transposed Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain into the near future. At its third level, this book transposes Wittgenstein's later theories of meaning into the realm of practical reality. Or, at least this is what I think is happening, based on Mendelsund's decision to quote from Wittgenstein at the beginning of each of the novel's three parts and then to make plain his doing this in an "Author's Note" at the end of the book. But, unlike in Same Same where the Magic Mountain references were explained just enough that their function in the story was plain (and, in fact, I read this contemporary transposition before reading Mann's classic), here the outside references—to the extent that they exist—are subtle enough that this third level of the book will go over most readers' heads, as it did mine.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate this novel more for the aesthetics and clever stylistic decisions than for the plot and writing itself. Even as an unnamed character, the author made it easy to make the reader empathetic towards the delivery boy. He was in indentured servitude in an unnamed city (NYC) as a refugee from an unnamed dictatorship (Central American). The text gradually became slightly more verbose as the delivery boy became more comfortable with English language. His job was difficult, navigating the highly trafficked streets was difficult, learning the language and culture of his new country was difficult. But he did his best to understand. The language in the second half was less sparse as tension built and his understanding grew.

[Itasca Community Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simon says:
A terse, minimalist novel about being displaced and exploited. The unnamed delivery boy protagonist—a refugee from a war-torn country—toils in a dystopian city, delivering goods via bicycle, under the yoke of a tyrannical boss. The plot plays out in a series of plainspoken descriptions, each episode a delivery that informs the reader, piece-by-piece, about the circumstances that landed the delivery boy in his current situation.

Mendelsund attempts to get at the heart of the refugee experience by making the main character’s country of origin and current location vague: The details of the protagonist’s emotional experience are more important than the factual particulars. This lends to evocative and empathetic world-building—the reader can relate to the main character as a human being having a hard time, regardless of his ethnicity or nationality. The new language and culture the delivery boy must contend with leave him feeling disconnected, unable to express himself verbally or emotionally in a foreign city. This brisk read has a raw immediacy that draws the reader in and blunt writing that packs an emotional wallop.

[Aaron Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book.
It’s quite different than anything I’ve read before and it gave me a new appreciation for delivery people.
The first half of the book is a very quick read because the story is told in short vignettes that are easy to follow. The second half takes a bit longer to read and plays out almost like a dream.
The ending left me with the same strange feeling that I had when I finished The Giver. But not for the same reasons.

[Georgia Hogg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. A well written meditation on the inequalities that fuel our service industry. Please tip your Uber drivers.

[Sweetnothing · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book made me cry, the language!! the structure! the emotion.. it is about music, migration, don't miss it

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a strange book. It's quite different from what I usually read and not what I was expecting. The story takes place in an unnamed city in an unknown country, with a main character known only as "delivery boy" and his dispatcher N-. He works for an unnamed company as a bicycle messenger, taking unknown packages to people around the city while hoping for tips and 5-star ratings.

I kept reading even though the book didn't seem to have much of a plot at first, partially because of the way it was written (a sentence or two followed by a paragraph break) and partly because I wanted to see whether something was going to happen. I'm very glad I kept reading. It was about 805% into the book when I finally "got" it, but suddenly I was racing to find out what happened.

It takes a skillful writer to make a reader care about unnamed characters, but by the end of this book I definitely cared.

3.5 stars

FTC disclosure: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

[lillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm. hmm. hmmmmm. Not super for me. It was fun, and funny, but a felt a bit . empty? or confusing at least. VAGUE! And not vague in that there arent details, i liked that. Sentences get hazy and lose their meaning though, towards the end. I would have liked a little more to hold onto. There was a really good line in there about puddles under a swingset that I loved.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling book that is unique for its storytelling as much as its story.

It narrates the life of an anonymous delivery boy in an unnamed large city. He is a teenager with a bike and a sequestered, refugee life. And by "refugee," readers learn, the tale means an unofficial immigrant smuggled by human traffickers who now control every aspect of his life of indentured servitude. He lives in the warehouse he works from, is not allowed to take the time for conversation or friendship, and has his movements and time monitored. He doesn't know the language or culture outside his warehouse, only tricks to earn better reviews and tips from his wealthy, oblivious customers.

In Part I, the story is told in snippets. Short sentences. A paragraph here, a paragraph there. It doesn't even narrate scenes or episodes, just passing moments. The entirety of Chapter One: Delivery 1: [two stars]; Chapter Six:

Green awnings (stippled from the rain).
Manhole covers (latticed).
Trees (on the median. Marbling shadows).
Pedal; coast. Pedal; coast.
Light (strobing).
The smell of the hot, wet pavement.
The phone: heavy in his pocket.

It's spare and poetic. It effectively conveys the delivery boy's minimal life.

Part II shifts to more standard prose. It includes momentary shifts in perspective to minor characters. The narrator quickly inserts himself with a few asides. It's much wordier and flowing.

The change reflects a shift in the story. The delivery boy has just taken a risk, and it has gone badly. He's made a gesture of affection for the dispatch girl (woman?) who--secretly--is the closest thing he has to a friend. They are both in trouble. He is assigned a unique delivery to somewhere far away he's never been. It is something new and terrifying--for reasons more than its newness.

Part III is one long, continuous block of text without a single paragraph break. Reading it is stifling and anxiety-inducing merely for its form, to say nothing of its contents. To add to the suspense, the narrator spends half the space talking about himself (I'm not clear the purpose of this aside from creating more tension; though, based on the shape and style of the book, I imagine Mendelsund has something more in mind as well--perhaps it is a an example of the privileged being blind to the oppressed in ways that continue to insert and center themselves, continuing the marginalization despite their good intentions; perhaps it is an attempt to indicate how readers create meaning of what they read by finding their personal connections; perhaps it is something else. [And now I have inadvertently imitated Mendelsund's style. Appropriate]). Needless to say, it is immensely effective.

This is a unique and uniquely powerful story.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book was a little like drinking a bottle of wine. Intriguing at first, then you settle in and enjoy the building details, then it begins to fade into a dreamscape that you are not quite sure about. I kid, I kid. The ending and writing did get a little fuzzy for me; like the narrative voices began to blend and reality and dream did too. Maybe that was the point. But it is a thought provoking read and one that creates characters and tension even as it remains mysterious and fluid.

[michal k-c · Rating 2 out of 5]

don’t have much to say about this one other than that it itself doesn’t have much to say. the hard change in style / form midway through feels less like a writerly decision and more like indecision, and once i realized this was actually a bit of a metafiction on novel writing it muddled its very direct marxist musings (which, for the record, was fine considering the novel is ostensibly about the gig economy having created a new caste of slaves). The fragmented form was at least a bit visually interesting and, given Mendelsund’s experience as a graphic designer, seems like that was the point.

[Drew Praskovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as strange as I wanted to be. What begins as a kinetic and frenzied journey shifts gears and turns into something much more mysterious, sinister, and uncertain.

I love that the form of this novel really follows this pattern as the delivery man takes job after job after
Job the prose is quick, sporadic. As he takes on one more major deliver, the prose shifts into longer blocks of text.

So much left unsaid, but so much felt.

Very intriguing!!

[Hudson · Rating 3 out of 5]

not bad but the constant parentheses could get annoying at times

[Nat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I’m still too concussed (have been for the past week) to really *get* this book, but enjoyed it nonetheless.

[James B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the early ebook. The Delivery Boy, as he’s identified in the book, has escaped one troubled nation to live in a warehouse of delivery men who are out on the streets of this unknown city delivering everything that can be transported on a simple bike and trying to get tips and five star ratings. Almost as important for Delivery Boy is to stay in the good graces of N., the dispatcher who is slowly teaching him English and gives him the best assignments, but when Delivery Boy shows her any affection, he gets shot down and has to slowly win her back to his side. The early part of the book is made up of super fast and short chapters as we see delivery after deliver and bike riding on crowded city streets and even the rules for living in the delivery dorms. When Delivery Boy runs afoul of the dreaded Supervisor, he’s sent on a distant delivery, through dangerous neighborhoods, that might change his life forever. Such a smart fable, told with a very sharp eye and sly wit.

[Alberto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ci sono delle realtà che al giorno d'oggi ignoriamo ed alle quali non diamo una voce, li lasciamo lì, muti, vediamo solo corpi ad una prima occhiata, ma che diventano subito invisibili, restando ai margini di tutto e tutti.
Sono scheggie impazzite presenti in ogni città, con un solo ed unico obiettivo: buone mance e valutazioni a cinque stelle.

- La cliente numero undici era molto eccitata nel vedere la busta che il ragazzo delle consegne le porgeva.
Tanto che il ragazzo delle consegne aveva pensato, per un momento che lei, la cliente, nella sua esuberanza, lo avrebbe abbracciato.

[Tristan · Rating 2 out of 5]

First half was great. Second half was a slog. Dropping this from a 3 star to a 2 star. 3 weeks after I finished it I saw it on my list of books read in 2021 and could barely remember a thing about it. It has no staying power.

[Meg Atherton]

dnf @ 84%

I’m too dumb for this book

[Gemma RL · Rating 3 out of 5]

De lo más original que leeré en mi vida

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way this book is structured. The use of short fragmented scenes at the beginning gives way to a modern flaneur who doesn't walk around the city, but cycles - a delivery boy. Having moved to a foreign country as a refugee, the "rhythm" of the world around him makes no sense to the delivery boy, and the use of this musical motif throughout helps to build an interesting picture of who this unnamed delivery driver is, what his experiences were, and how he views the world. As a result, the fragmented images of city streets and the domestic lives of strangers reflect his role as an observer trying to find his place in society without a real clue of what he is doing. Even the sentence structure, grammar, and spelling reflect his uncertainty with the language and how one is meant to express themselves correctly. It is a really intelligent use of narrative form to explore some of the complexities of being the odd one out in a fast and demanding world.

As the text goes on, the narration begins to become even more complex, almost as if in response to the delivery boy's growing understanding of how the world works around him. The narrative structure impresses me even more as the narrator begins to take a more active role in telling the story. - as the mysterious narrator in brackets begins to share more of their own experiences in response to the delivery boy, I started to have more fun with the book. They reveal so much about themselves without us even knowing who they are. There is almost an air of nostalgia added to the story through their narration and it meant this recount of the delivery boy's life felt like it was being observed with loving eyes before it was then shared with me.

The only thing that is a possible downside is the flaneur-like structure itself - sometimes just reading descriptive vignettes can get a bit boring and tedious, but there are enough breaks in the narrative that turn back to the delivery boy's "relationship" (if you can call it that) with N that it balances it out enough. The writing style can get a bit overwhelming too as the images of the urban landscape and people are often layered on top of one another, so you can sometimes feel lost or disoriented as you read. In my head, I allowed myself to feel that way and saw it as an added dimension to the delivery boy's own disorientation. However, I can 100% understand why people would not like that - heck, on a bad day I would hesitate to pick this up to continue. But I loved it, even for this feeling. The ending was heartwarming and satisfying, and let the effort of pushing through those confusing patches feel like it was worth it.

I highly recommend this if you love reading books with complex and layered narrative forms, particularly ones that play with who is actually telling the story, or ones that consciously play with formatting to shape meaning. I would also recommend this to people who love flaneur texts, urban landscapes, understated storylines, vignettes, and unpacking some of the smaller facets of the human experience through strong character scenes. I wouldn't recommend this if you prefer traditional narratives that are straightforward and "easy" to follow.

[Milan]

Pre izvesnog vremena susreo sam se ispred zgrade sa dostavljačem koji je sa onom džinovskom kockom na leđima i mokar do kože od kiše pokušava da dostavi paket Sanji sa trinaestog sprata u zemlji u kojoj ne zna ni domaći, a ni osnovne reči engleskog jezika?

Prvo sam mislio da je to ludo i hrabro, ali što sam duže o tome razmišljao sve sam više bio ubeđen da nije tu bilo mnogo slobodne volje. Prema zvaničnim podacima UN-a, radna eksploatacija - prisilni rad u građevinarstvu, poljoprivredi, fabrikama, rudnicima, pa čak i u domovima - čini veći deo slučajeva trgovine ljudima. Iako je seksualna eksploatacija dominantna među ženskim žrtvama, radna eksploatacija ostaje globalno brojnija, ali medijski manje vidljiva.

U tom kontekstu, svaki tamnoputi vozač autobusa ili dostavljač u Srbiji krije neizgovoreno pitanje: da li je on ovde svojom voljom ili zato što neko, negde, drži članove njegove porodice kao taoce? I da li odbijanje rada znači ne samo gubitak posla - već možda i gubitak glave njemu dragih osoba?

Čini mi se da je na tom tragu bio i Piter Mendelsend kada je napisao roman „Dostava“ o dostavljaču u velikom gradu, u zemlji čiji jezik ne zna, gde radi za hranu, krevet i otplaćivanje karte za brod kojim je pobegao iz ko zna kakvog pakla.

Zanimljiv je način pripovedanja. Rečenice su kratke, jezik oskudan, ritam fragmentaran - kao unutrašnji svet nekoga ko tek uči kako da govori strani jezik. I što više reči zna, naš dostavljač može bolje da nam opiše bezizlaz u kome se obreo i pakao iz koga je pobegao.

Kako roman odmiče, i dostavljač i pripovedač, postaju sve rečitiji. Dostavljaču je sve lakše izraziti misli, želje, strahove i težnje, a čitaocu pokušati da ga čuje i, zaista, razume.

I na tom dnu na kome se dostavljač nalazi, narativ svake bajke radi punom parom. Naš junak mora da pronađe hrabrost koju nije ni znao da poseduje, kako bi pobedio Supervizora, osvoji devojku u koju se zaljubio i oslobodi se lanaca nevidljivosti.

Zanimljivo napisana knjiga koja nam pomaže da odškrinemo kapije ka empatiji.

Nešto više o romanu možete pročitati u dužem članku koji se nalazi na ovom linku: https://www.bookvar.rs/dostava-kao-ti...

[Mark Einselen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Delivery by Peter Mendelsund hit me with peak timing. I'd finished cycling through New York City and stopped at Bagel Express to grab a coffee in the midst of a rainy day. The first pages of the book were about such an environment. That visceral experience pulled me in and the pacing of the opening chapters kept me going.

Initially I believed the book would be finished in a single sitting, but prior engagements called me away. I took the book with me across town, through more rain, into a Broadway show, on the subway, then an airplane. I couldn't put it down.

The format is rather experimental (not typically my thing) with a high concept (definitely my thing). The chapter and sentence structures are very unique, some of the later sentences are longer than the debut chapters. This unconventional decision by Mendelsund to exaggerate the pacing underscores and highlights the emotional notes he's aiming for.

Are you tired of remembering a myriad of secondary character names? Don't worry - there are no names to remember here. Want to get the basic facts of a scene but don't need to know the whole history of the urban context? Don't worry - the unnamed metropolis is a stand in for whatever city you imagine in your head.

Mendelsund leaves ambiguity which allows the reader to fill in the blanks with, perhaps, their own story and background. This makes the mysterious protagonist deeply relatable. I found myself pulling for him despite not even knowing what country he's immigrating from (or to) or what his native language is.

The flashbacks were beautifully woven into the story and brought meaning to otherwise unremarkable details. The conclusion was a powerful exhortation to go forth with meaning and feeling, even if without confidence. The invitation to take action was emphasized by the narrative rather than diatribe.

The Delivery hit me in all the right ways at exactly the right time. Your mileage may vary, it certainly won't be a 5 star read for everyone. But if you give it a chance, ask yourself what was delivered in the end. The answer might be simple, but certainly not small.

[Edith · Rating 4 out of 5]

In The Delivery, we follow the story of a delivery boy - nameless, faceless, and in some big, unknown city - as he fulfils his delivery duties while trying to work towards a better life, adapt to his new surroundings, and of course, earn the affection of his assigned dispatcher, N.

Throughout the book, we see remnants of his past (his time spent in the youth orchestra, fondly remembered) interspersed between his own musings. These provide some context for how he became a delivery boy (our delivery boy), of which some flashbacks seem to run parallel to his experiences in the present.

Interestingly, we also see how the delivery boy gradually becomes more fluent in the English language by the chapter - from the brief, curt sentences that comprised the first few chapters, which then expanded and grew into full prose, which eventually culminated in the last few lines :

... and he recognised then, as I do, a capacity for moving forward, an ability to go on endlessly if necessary, on and on, and though he did now yet know what he was moving toward he knew then that a happy life was a headlong life and a fluent life and that whatever was to befall him at the end, he would be able to say, finally that he was conversant.

Honestly, this seemed like a rather average, 3-star read early on. I was wondering if the writing style of the short, jarring sentences would carry on for the whole book, but was pleasantly surprised when things really picked up by the second half. Although I really enjoyed reading this for the most of it, I ended up still deducting 1 star because the later chapters started to feel really convoluted (re unnecessarily long) and I just wanted to get on to the next sentence but there was no end in sight :")

So, 4-stars for me!

[Brent Holcomb · Rating 5 out of 5]

The paperback edition of Peter Mendelsund's thrillingly creative novel, "The Delivery," was released last week. I raced through this book in a couple of evenings and it did a little magic trick on me. The book follows a nameless delivery boy on his bicycle as he navigates a big city full of people who desperately need his services but barely even see him.

The journey begins with a single line for chapter one.

"Delivery 1: ⭐⭐"

Business picks up as the day progresses and we get bits and pieces of the delivery boy's past life in between package dropoffs. He grew up in a war-torn country ruled by a tyrant.

"Third delivery.
An indifferent man; a customary tip.
(No stars.)"

He recalls his childhood crush with reverence, a French horn player with auburn hair who played in a youth orchestra with him.

"Fourth customer: ⭐"

The delivery boy? He played the cymbals.

"Customer nine: decent tip, no comments. ⭐⭐⭐⭐"

Barriers surround the delivery boy wherever he goes. Angry doormen, a terrifying supervisor, gangs of jeering teenagers, the constant noise and furious speed of the city, and not least, the language barrier.

His daydreams cling to memories that are tied to his former life. He is trying to connect. He longs for stability and a fruitful new life for himself in the city, but he's trapped in a system that is depriving him of the time, freedom, and resources he needs to make that happen.

And then...a special delivery opportunity arises. A delivery outside of the city. Five parcels. He's dying to look inside the bags, but there are very specific instructions.

THIS IS CLASSIFIED INFORMATION, so I will reveal nothing more here. Hop on, though. It's a brisk ride straight outta town, and it's more than worth the delivery fee.

Happy customer, parcel delivered successfully. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Joshua Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Crescendos,” he (the conductor) would say, “always begin quietly…”

This uniquely styled novel progresses in much the same fashion, with segmented and seemingly disparate thoughts and blurbs of information being provided with just enough connectivity to allow us to begin forming a mental image of the story’s main character, the delivery boy.

As the story develops and the pace accelerates, human elements and personal feelings and desires begin punctuating the taciturn dialog to create a character we root for and wish success and happiness upon.

The Delivery culminates in its own crescendo with a frantic pace and relentless stream of storytelling with sentences that run pages and allow us both glimpses to the potential future of the delivery boy while referencing past experiences that blend seamlessly into a well rounded world where hope and love combat a seemingly relentless and unescapable machine of dystopian control.

I began reading this book, unsure of the style and with little interest in the character of the delivery boy, who was presented to us in fragmented glimpses and curt thoughts. The story is told in such a compelling way, however, that I found myself slowly drawn into his city and curious as to what would unfold next. This book is reminisce of George Saunders' “Lincoln in the Bardo” in the way it uses individual single-line thoughts, dialog lines, and events to move the story forward.

I thoroughly enjoyed this unconventional novel, and thank the author, Peter Mendelsund, and the publisher, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, for providing an Advanced Reader Copy of The Delivery to me.