The Long Road of the Junkmailer

by Patrick Holland

Whimsical, vibrant, and memorable, this astonishing narrative is filled with a host of quirky characters caught in a collision between reality and dreams. A lonely junkmailer with a thirst for adventure finds that his search for letterboxes has taken on epic proportions. With a bag full of real estate leaflets and aided by his unusual companions—a girl who has forgotten how to cry, a Polish-Aboriginal clairvoyant, a mysterious ringmaster, and a tribe of watchful white tigers—the junkmailer proceeds on a quixotic and often melancholy journey through the sleeping streets of a subtropical city in need of redemption.

290 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2006

About the author

Patrick Holland grew up in outback Queensland, Australia. He worked as a stockman until taking up literary studies at Griffith University. He has studied Chinese and Vietnamese at universities in Beijing, Qingdao and Saigon.

His work attempts a strict minimalism inspired by Arvo Pärt and takes up geographical and theological themes, focussing on life’s simplest elements: light and dark; noise, sound and silence; wind and water.

Reviews

[Claude · Rating 1 out of 5]

Do not read this novel. This is Christian literature in disguise. Though it could possibly be some other form of monotheistic religion in disguise also. I stopped reading this book at page 54 for two reasons. . . First and foremost because the novel is trying to pretend to be enlightened when the author has been 'predestined' with some form of religious indoctrination. And secondly because the narrative jumps all over the place in a psuedo-magical realism way. All true knowledge is ruined by institutionalised religion: this book proves this (don't let the ambiguous narrative fool you). The story line is mock-ambivalence in order to persuade an audience that ambivalence is a sign of faith, and not what it really is: the unanswerable. Any book written with a religious agenda (particularly that of the institutional variety) is guaranteed fallacy. Don't fool your self people: Religious people are cunts; regardless of their denominations. So are meat-eaters. Be vegetarian or vegan, and don't read this book by an irrational (and most likely) christian fool.

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

I very rarely give up on books, but this one is awful. Impossible to follow, the author seems to try it on with lots of symbolism but no plot. The book makes Brisbane look even worse than it is in real life. I did get the sense of some religious undertones - it is a bit like sitting through a really abstract reading of the book of revelations if you were unfortunate enough to be made to go to church... Boring boring boring...

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good magical realism from a new Australian author.

[David Winger · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few nice laughs and pretty scenes, but, all in all, pretty disappointing and uncontrolled compared to what this author would later produce. Must admit I couldn't finish it.

[Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful. I need to reread this at a quieter time of the year. Many moments were lost due to inconsistent reading sessions and my brain being too tired to focus on reading after a busy day.

[DaniLG · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some beautifully written parts and some completely confusing symbolic blahblah... Too many other books on my bedside table...

[Racheal Sims · Rating 5 out of 5]

funny and sad with a host of weird and wonderful characters