Tom Lynch

Meet Albert Lippincott. Albert is a mailman. Albert is lonely. Albert is a shadow.

Based in the fictional small town of Nestor, New York, J. Robert Lennon's comically disorienting new novel follows its hero, Albert the mailman, through a transitional stage of his life, when decisions must be made and memories must be faced. We are privy to Albert's compulsive addiction to reading other people's mail, to the history of his humorously tragic love life, and to his drastically warped relationship with his family. We see Albert desperate, aching and, most vividly, alone. And it's funny. It's real funny.

Lennon hits the right notes with his descriptions of Albert's idiosyncrasies, the entire bundle of neurotic sticks that he carries with him all day, every day. Though the writing may have been a bit more suitable if done in first-person, Lennon's use of third-person offers insight into the other people of Nestor, those who live and breathe with Albert himself.

The novel has a certain energy that glows between the lines, a satisfying jolt that keeps the pages turning and the dialogue interesting. Lennon, a McSweeney's fave, rolls snake eyes on some of his comic musings, but most often is dead-on, and dead articulate. His adoration for small-town life is prominent in his work, and told through the actions of a softly maniacal mailman, the book strides towards the promised land of sarcasm and criticism.

But Lennon doesn't keep his characters bitter. Albert longs for love just as everybody else does. He needs companionship, a reason to be how he is or, better yet, a reason to change. Lennon guides his character through some rough waters, but ultimately places him in some wonderfully affecting moments, where much can be learned from a gesture or phrase. If Albert could keep his cool, even momentarily, things could end up much better for him. Thankfully, that's nearly impossible, and what's left to read is a dissection of how things fall apart, but can be put back together again. After all, with the U.S. Postal Service, packages are broken and taped back together all the time.

Mailman

By J. Robert Lennon

W.W. Norton & Company, 483 pages, $24.95

(2003-10-08)

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