The book tells the story of a postman who goes by the name of Bilodo. Bilodo is a lonely, respectable person who has no interest in the life outside his secular world. He takes his job as postman very seriously and has been performing his tasks meticulously for over six years. The life of Bilodo is not without its drama, love, fights and, moments of great solitude. Late in the evening, cloistered in his house, he unfolds letters he intercepts during days of work and reads them. Despite the “soap opera” entertainment provided by these letters, one particular correspondence has captured his attention and his heart. Bilodo has grown a tender and rather dangerous love for Segolène, a Guadeloupean who has been corresponding in poem with Grandpé for a while.

The powerful and delicate voice of the narrative drew me entirely into the life of Bilodo. The plot is remarkably imaginative. The fact that it is written beautifully in prose makes it difficult to put the book down. The story flew through a cross-cultural universe where Denis Theriualt “focuses on the cultures of French Canada, Japan, and Guadeloupe”. I can see the reader immersed in the Archipelago of Guadeloupe, feel the splendid rhythms of Japanese poetry, and discover the marble street of “la rue des Hètres”. I was enthralled by the scrumptious Haku that enlightened the peculiar romance between Segolène and “Bilodo”. Bilido is presented as a man who chooses to live in an imaginary world he fabricated. Part of me sympathized and emphasized with him. He is both “pitiful and admirable at the same time”. In the end, Bilodo is incapable of finding his voice of reason, leading him to his lowest level of existence. There is, however, a subtle, fantastic element that made me re-evaluate his mental state. The last unexpected turn puts the book in the top 5 of my favorite books read in 2015. I salute Denis Theriaulh for putting together brilliantly the poignant, captivating and peculiar life of a lonely postman and making us rediscover the beauty of corresponding by letters.

Translated by Liedewy Hawke

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