The Postwoman

The Postwoman is one of the most ambitious and well-written novels to have come out of Galicia in the last twenty years. It follows the trials and tribulations (and sporadic joys) of a temporary postwoman in an imaginary city that might be Vigo. She is assigned to the district of Somewhere, where she comes into contact with a host of characters - from Humpty, an ex-heroin addict who likes to read on his windowsill, to the fortune-teller Selena, who warns her to watch out for the eyes of the beast, the dastardly trio of Mr Red, Dame Pink and Miss Blue, colonizers of a hectare in Area 51 who are hostile to intruders, and the rich man from Villa Ramona who owns two dogs and a Vietnamese pig. The postwoman is given short shrift, but she is also a voyeuse who knows more about the lives of those she delivers to than the local doctor or parish priest. Her inseparable companion is the blue and yellow trolley stuffed with letters, parcels and Internet purchases, which she baptizes Primitivo and which, on the slopes of Fourth Circle, does its best to run her over. Both the postwoman, and the translator of this book into English, hold BAs in Classics, and there’s nothing like Classics to give you a clear-sighted, timeless view of the world you live in.

Santiago Lopo holds a BA in Translation and Interpreting. The Postwoman is his sixth novel and won him the Losada Diéguez Award. He is the recipient of two of Galicia’s most prestigious literary awards: the García Barros (for Zulu Time) and the Xerais (for The Art of Making Verses). He teaches French in Pontevedra.