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Book CLub: Discussion of Postcards by Annie Proulx

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Front-Ranger:
Welcome everyone to a bookclubish discussion of the novel Postcards, by Annie Proulx. I first read this novel back in 1997 right after reading Brokeback Mountain in the New Yorker. It was one of her first novels, written mainly while in residence at the UCross Foundation near Sheridan, Wyoming, also while at her home in Newfoundland.

The story is set during the Depression in rural America, as all of her work is about rural people. It is basically about one family called the Bloods. We have Mink, the father; Loyal, the eldest son; Jewell, the mother; Dub, another son; and Mernell, the daughter.

The story begins with a facsimile of a postcard, which is sent by the Rural Electrification Service, regarding the need for all farmers to install electric fences. This is a powerful (sorry!) metaphor, which begs comparison to the electricity references in BBM.

Jump in here with clarifications, questions, and your thoughts on the first chapter!!

Front-Ranger:
For those of you who are reading Postcards, note the discussion of the milkweed pods in the first chapter. I missed it the first time around, and I think it's a significant detail. I didn't see anything similar in Brokeback Mountain about plants. They didn't seem to play a big role, except for small mentions of colombine and lodgepole pine trees. Or, did I miss something?

Front-Ranger:
Here is some background about Annie Proulx:

http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php?topic=6122.msg122343#msg122343

Shakesthecoffecan:
I will get my copy back out and review. What I rememebr about the opening chapter is Loyal's dedication to the land, his pride in keeping his field clean, his dog going along with him to the task. There is a sense that the rest of the family is not as meticulas as he.

Front-Ranger:
So what does Loyal look like? I imagine him looking something like this:

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