The Postmistress Response

Book Title: The Postmistress
Author: Sarah Blake
Year of Publication: 2010
Number of Pages: 352
AR Points Awarded: No quiz

Literary Elements
Narrator - Third person omniscient. It goes from many different view points, including Iris’s, Emma’s, Dr. Fitch’s, Frankie’s, and Harry’s. “Frankie took one step forward with a scream...” p. 178 “In the snow, Emma thought, looking out at the afternoon disappearing in the gently falling white, nothing terrible could happen.” p. 140
Protagonist - There are different protagonists depending on what part of the story we’re in, because it switches view points. Emma, Iris, and Frankie are all protagonists. Emma is very quiet, shy, and easily upset, and Iris and Frankie are very bold and independent. “Emma reached and switched on the light without breathing, and then stood directly in front of the radio, her arms crossed over her chest, her heart pounding.” p. 159
Antagonist - In this story, the antagonist is not a person, but the war. The war kills many people, including Dr. Fitch, and traumatizes many lives. “...a war knocks down the regular, steady life we set up...” p. 75
Setting - For Emma and Iris, the story takes place in Franklin, Massachusetts. For Frankie and Dr. Fitch, it takes place overseas in various places in Europe, but mostly London. “And bombs were falling on Coventry, London, and Kent. Sleek metal pellets shaped like the blunt-tipped ends of pencils aimed down upon hedgerow and thatch.”  p. 11. “The bait at the end of the sandy hook sticking fifty-odd miles into the Atlantic, the town of Franklin waves slyly back at the shore. The first thing one loses there is a sense of direction. Ringed by the yellow-white sand dunes and water on all sides, North and South seem to switch points on the compass, and the sky is no help. It is a place swollen by fish and the smell of fish, of cod oil, of the broken spars of whale bones and masts spat back from the sea onto the broad swath of beaches behind the town.” p. 18 The mood in Franklin is kind of cool and misty like the beaches and sea. The mood in England is very intense, which is emphasized by the war going on there.
Conflict - The main conflict for most of the characters is just the war, which is external. They all are fighting against it in their own way. It’s affected all of their lives in a huge way. “The scraps added up to a terrible time for the Jews, any man at home could see...But war was terrible. God knows, war was hell. And what were we supposed to do about it?” p. 37
Theme - The theme of this story is that sometimes times get tough, but people can do things about it to try to help. If nobody tries to help, nothing will change. It’s up to us to shape our world, but we need to do it together. “Here--she turned and looked across the lawns to Emma’s house. Here we are. Here we all are.” p. 350
Historical Context - The whole novel is historically significant, because it takes place in the 1940s during World War II. “Now the talk was of a German invasion. Would England stand?” “Buchenwald was as yet only a town in Germany, where sunlight splattered the trees. Auschwitz. Bergen-Belsen. Simply foreign names.” p. 12

Reflection
The Postmistress was not one of the books I’ve ever read. It was a little slow, and kind of confusing. Throughout the course of the book, it went from the point of view of probably five or six characters, which got way too confusing. I had a hard time keeping the characters straight. I sort of identified with Emma because she’s sort of a perfectionist, but she’s way more timid than I am. It didn’t really remind me of anything else I’ve read. I do think it would make a better movie than a book, because it would be way easier to keep the characters straight with a visual representation. I would probably mostly recommend the book to older people. I think my grandmas may enjoy it because they’d be able to identify with the time more. It did not end the way I expected. Harry dying was very unexpected for me, and I also didn’t expect Frankie’s tapes to ever be heard by anyone but her and Otto.