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tealinI'm about to launch another 'What I Love About X' list/thesis/rave (already taken the notes, nothing's stopping me but time and cowardice) but remembered that I hadn't quite finished the Going Postal one I'd started last fall. When I moved, I found the folded up piece of paper that had been my notepad and carefully put it with my computer stuff, so now I am finally typing it up and calling it done. I don't remember most of the thinking behind the notes, now, and I'm coming at it with a bee in my bonnet about character development and audience involvement so it's a different list than it would have been a year ago but dangit, it is completed!
So, starting at pg. 342 (341 for context) of the Commonwealth edition ...
Even after winning, Moist's first reaction is still to run away, though he immediately checks it now, rather than think it through long enough to conclude he can't. Despite the narration of his thoughts being the voice of an apparently independent sapient human who believes he has free will it is obvious that he's been trained. By the way, Mr Pump hasn't followed him at all since, what, the fire? It's interesting to think the training had been apparent for that long to an outside observer and completely invisible to Moist himself.
"The best way to get something done is to give it to someone who is busy."
"Well done, Mr Lipwig." We don't need any narration of thoughts here to feel along with Moist, 'Oh crap, he knows! But he ... approves?' Now that's writing, when you can write something by not writing it.
Moist coming down after the successful 'heist' is so much more ... real. After the exhilaration of the adrenaline rush and the initial thrill of victory or accomplishment there is a down – at least that's how it's always been for me, when I finish a project or an assignment that's required a big push at the end. It feels like a natural place for the emotional tone to go, the trough after the peak, so it resonates a lot more than if the whole rest of the book had just stayed on 'high.' Besides, it gives the ending a place to go.
When freed from Mr Pump, his first thought is still of escape – but then he realizes that's his autopilot. The transformation is complete. He didn't have to become the world's most upstanding citizen, he just had to overcome that particular flaw. His personality is still the same, more or less; his character hasn't changed that much from the beginning, but this crucial key has been turned, and by leaving the rest of him the same the significance of this one small change is vastly amplified. If he'd become a completely different person at the end, would we care as much?
The alternate future he sees when talking with Miss Dearheart is brilliant. Its brilliance is actually almost exactly the same as when the paramedics are trying to resuscitate Buffy's mom: the progression of visuals starts off being completely realistic in tone and pace so we accept them as truth but they steadily race out of control and we realize it's the frantic imaginings of the main character as they're panicking just before we 'cut' back to the real reality from which they're wishfully extrapolating. This creates an odd sort of jarring mental bump, like when you dream you're falling and wake up right at the moment you would have hit the ground.
He can tolerate his new life as long as he can still consider escape an opportunity. Not 'and he lived happily ever after at the post office with his new friends and new purpose in life.' In fact this is reinforcing just how minimally he's changed. Events and dialogue suggest it is a 'happily ever after' ending, and in many ways it is inside Moist's head as well, but we have this little nod to his former self that ties it all together and still keeps things fun, which raises the tone from the doldrums it's been in to the glee of the ending ... which makes it even happier.
Teach Alphonse to say 'Trust Me' [Dunno why I wrote this down, perhaps something about tying up loose ends or connecting the two conniving tricksters or something?]
And out in the bustling cavern white feathers began to fall from the roof. They may have been from an angel, but were more likely to be coming from the pigeon that a hawk was just disembowelling on a beam. Still, they were feathers. It's all about style.
This took me by surprise almost every time I read it (save the last because the prior reading hadn't been that long before), which immediately made me feel kind of dumb but I didn't care because it's the frosting on the cake of the ridiculous giddy high I'm on by the end of the book. The extra stab of humour usually makes me snicker out loud no matter where I happen to read it. Unfortunately now that I've written it down I'll probably remember it forever and never be surprised by it again. Such a pity. But still, it ties together so many parts of the story: the 'angel' theme; the pigeons which connect the piles of mail, Gryle, and the GNU; Moist's trademark of putting on a good show, and possibly the ruthlessness of the game called business – and it's funny. All in one delightful (if slightly gruesome) image.
And one last final beat to close off the symphony, Gilt's fate. Set up so early, paid off so well. If I were making this into a movie I'd be tempted to put this scene at the end of the credits. It's not really essential to the story arc, and feels like a bit of an afterthought, but gives such a nice little punch right at the end that it would reward anyone who sat through the credits to watch it.
In case you missed the previous episodes in this series of insanity, here are some links:
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3
So, starting at pg. 342 (341 for context) of the Commonwealth edition ...
Even after winning, Moist's first reaction is still to run away, though he immediately checks it now, rather than think it through long enough to conclude he can't. Despite the narration of his thoughts being the voice of an apparently independent sapient human who believes he has free will it is obvious that he's been trained. By the way, Mr Pump hasn't followed him at all since, what, the fire? It's interesting to think the training had been apparent for that long to an outside observer and completely invisible to Moist himself.
"The best way to get something done is to give it to someone who is busy."
"Well done, Mr Lipwig." We don't need any narration of thoughts here to feel along with Moist, 'Oh crap, he knows! But he ... approves?' Now that's writing, when you can write something by not writing it.
Moist coming down after the successful 'heist' is so much more ... real. After the exhilaration of the adrenaline rush and the initial thrill of victory or accomplishment there is a down – at least that's how it's always been for me, when I finish a project or an assignment that's required a big push at the end. It feels like a natural place for the emotional tone to go, the trough after the peak, so it resonates a lot more than if the whole rest of the book had just stayed on 'high.' Besides, it gives the ending a place to go.
When freed from Mr Pump, his first thought is still of escape – but then he realizes that's his autopilot. The transformation is complete. He didn't have to become the world's most upstanding citizen, he just had to overcome that particular flaw. His personality is still the same, more or less; his character hasn't changed that much from the beginning, but this crucial key has been turned, and by leaving the rest of him the same the significance of this one small change is vastly amplified. If he'd become a completely different person at the end, would we care as much?
The alternate future he sees when talking with Miss Dearheart is brilliant. Its brilliance is actually almost exactly the same as when the paramedics are trying to resuscitate Buffy's mom: the progression of visuals starts off being completely realistic in tone and pace so we accept them as truth but they steadily race out of control and we realize it's the frantic imaginings of the main character as they're panicking just before we 'cut' back to the real reality from which they're wishfully extrapolating. This creates an odd sort of jarring mental bump, like when you dream you're falling and wake up right at the moment you would have hit the ground.
He can tolerate his new life as long as he can still consider escape an opportunity. Not 'and he lived happily ever after at the post office with his new friends and new purpose in life.' In fact this is reinforcing just how minimally he's changed. Events and dialogue suggest it is a 'happily ever after' ending, and in many ways it is inside Moist's head as well, but we have this little nod to his former self that ties it all together and still keeps things fun, which raises the tone from the doldrums it's been in to the glee of the ending ... which makes it even happier.
Teach Alphonse to say 'Trust Me' [Dunno why I wrote this down, perhaps something about tying up loose ends or connecting the two conniving tricksters or something?]
And out in the bustling cavern white feathers began to fall from the roof. They may have been from an angel, but were more likely to be coming from the pigeon that a hawk was just disembowelling on a beam. Still, they were feathers. It's all about style.
This took me by surprise almost every time I read it (save the last because the prior reading hadn't been that long before), which immediately made me feel kind of dumb but I didn't care because it's the frosting on the cake of the ridiculous giddy high I'm on by the end of the book. The extra stab of humour usually makes me snicker out loud no matter where I happen to read it. Unfortunately now that I've written it down I'll probably remember it forever and never be surprised by it again. Such a pity. But still, it ties together so many parts of the story: the 'angel' theme; the pigeons which connect the piles of mail, Gryle, and the GNU; Moist's trademark of putting on a good show, and possibly the ruthlessness of the game called business – and it's funny. All in one delightful (if slightly gruesome) image.
And one last final beat to close off the symphony, Gilt's fate. Set up so early, paid off so well. If I were making this into a movie I'd be tempted to put this scene at the end of the credits. It's not really essential to the story arc, and feels like a bit of an afterthought, but gives such a nice little punch right at the end that it would reward anyone who sat through the credits to watch it.
In case you missed the previous episodes in this series of insanity, here are some links:
