Going Postal

by Stephan Jaramillo

Much to his mailman father's dismay, Steve Reeves is not mailman material, his girlfriend has just dumped him, his embarrassing career at BagelWorks is over, and his father, who had been steadily losing it for years, has just given him his first gun. A first novel. Original.

Genres: Fiction

250 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 1997

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though I don't remember much about it, I'm sure I enjoyed reading this author's second book - Chocolate Jesus - back about 13 years ago. Based on those good, sort-of-there memories, I was definitely looking forward to reading this, his first effort. That's why it pains me greatly to say that this one really kind of sucked.

Not only was this tale of a twenty-something slacker who spends his life avoiding work and trying to get laid not funny...it was boring. I finally resorted to mentally pleading with the female characters, "Please have sex with him just so he'll SHUT UP!"

Finally, one of them did, and then he did.

End of story

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

The dead-pan sarcasm was what I loved most about this book. I felt myself questioning the point of the story, even up until the end, but the humor made up for it. That, and the frighteningly accurate portrayal of how dark and psychotic someone's thoughts can get when everything he wants seems just out of reach. I was impressed with how Stephan Jaramillo was able to recreate the feelings - rage, jealousy, frustration - of certain thoughts, and the capacity for us to dwell at length on a single thought, but the next moment have five thoughts simultaneously. I also appreciated that the book was a very quick read, probably due to the conversational writing style.

[Mark Hansen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book came highly recommended by a friend, who loves the book Chocolate Jesus... This book is a stream of consciousness tale of a twenteisomething living in the bay area, whitout a job, or a girlfriend. There is no plot to this book, just every little though that dorps into the main characters head. Oh, and there is so little development of the other characters that it becomes just about the main character, and his miserable life. Things he spends a whole chapter obsessing over, never take place, important points like how is he paying his bills, are glossed over, even the epilog fails to tie up important points that were left hanging in the previous chapter. So, this book was a real waste of my time... Oh, and despite the back cover, it was not funny at any point.

[Scott Brillon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book. Honestly, it's a lot of fun. A very 90's book if I do say so. I got this book from a friend of mine who said I reminded her of the main character. Another friend of mine read it and said the same thing. Then I read it and, yeah, I thought it sounded like me...back then. I think I'll give it another read sometime soon.

[J.G. Day · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book read like yet another angsty, white man-child with too much time on his hands. The main character (certainly not a protagonist) toys with the idea of "going postal" throughout the entire story, only to find a girl and decide that all is well in the world again. A lifeless and vaguely irritating read.

[Arielle Morin · Rating 1 out of 5]

BORING!!!
And the sarcasm and self deprecating humor was funny in the beginning. but then it just got old fast.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever have a book where people stare at you while you are reading it because you are laughing so hard? This is one of those books for me. The characters are well developed and engaging for sure. A**holes perhaps, but funny.

Steve Reeves is in denial. He is fighting an evil seed in him and he seems to be losing the battle. Steve's father is a postman and it seems Steve has the seed of a postman inside him. The further away Steve tries to get from the life of a mail carrier, the worse things seem to go.

Do I find myself wanting to help Steve? Nope. Would he be funny as hell to hang out with and drink a beer with. Heck yeah!


This is one of my favorite books of all time. I have read it at least three times. Each time, I read it in a single sitting. Go read this thing.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very funny first novel. The kind of thing I could imagine writing if I had more talent. Very good use of first person narration, but I felt like it fell apart a little toward the end. The author seemed burdened by the need to wrap up a plot line. He would have been better off to stay with his strengths here, which are clever dialog and funny situations, and not worry so much about following a traditional story structure. It could be the basis for some kind of rule of writing good fiction: "If you can write, every day situations can be entertaining and hilarious. If you can't, even the most fantastic settings and happenings will fall flat." Stephan Jaramillo can write.

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up at a book fair because it sounded like it would be funny and entertaining, and it was at the beginning. I was actually laughing out loud, which is a rare occurrence for me. Then I got to a point near the middle of the book where I could not take any more self loathing. Your girlfriend dumped you, you got fired from your job (you hated your boss), and your family is messed up…get over it!! Steve could have applied himself to change his situation but it was more fun to get drunk and eat chicken than to get a job and be a productive member of society. It took me about a month to read 250 pages. Overall, I am disappointed.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

People who live in the Oakland/Berkeley area will recognize the setting of this book. It's lightweight and fun, although the shiftless protagonist is hardly a role model. The major shortcoming of this book is the ending. The author collapses several weeks worth of plot into a few pages. It's almost as though he became tired of writing or was told his word processor was going to be repossessed in 24 hours.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel that this book is more for a cult audience than average readers, but for them, it's great. Stephan Jaramillo does well to convey the feelings the main character experiences, and his characters are realistic, but intriguing. I think that everyone should read this once, and those of us who nejoy it as much as I do, will keep it in their collection.

[John Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laugh out loud funny book about a Gen-x loser you can't help rooting for.

If you mooshed JD Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye" with Douglas Coupland's "Generation X", you might end up with this gut busting hilarious book.

[Jay Szpirs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fight Club lite. It captures the spirit of the early '90's and has some memorable characters but doesn't go far enough. Too light to approach the social/ideological problems of the age, too heavy to chuckle with and toss aside. A promising debut.

[Karrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biting humor and pretty dark. I loved it!

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember I picked this up because of the title. It was a funny little romp through 'a worst day ever' scenario. Good fun.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Darkly humorous and fun. I remember almost no specific plot details from my years-ago read of this baby. But I liked it. I do know that. There, was that helpful?

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy read and laugh out loud funny. And while you read it you may think that only young people will appreciate it, I must mention that my ex-boyfriend's 75 year old mother read it and loved it.

[Samantha Williams · Rating 1 out of 5]

The main character is too winey for me. All he talks about is drugs, him not having a job or a girlfriend. I'll be getting rid of this book.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out funny. And then it was a lot of nothing leading up to nothing. Thought more would happen. Ending was dumb. Quick read tho