The Amorous Postman
This erotic work indulges in the most basic human desires.
Martin Harvey’s The Amorous Postman is a gluttonous erotic novel that explores the pleasures and challenges of a young man’s sexual awakening and journey to adulthood.
Liam lives with his parents, to whom he is very close. He begins a new job as a postman and is suddenly introduced to many women; they propel his new epicurean lifestyle. Through love, lust, and the occasional violent altercation, Liam grows into a confident and active member of society.
The style and structure of the writing is distracting. Void of many paragraph breaks or accurate punctuation, the novel reads as a sort of third-person stream of consciousness, mirroring the fluid and erratic way that Liam moves through his life. This simple pattern is maintained throughout, evolving only slightly as Liam’s life begins to change.
There are two types of women in the novel: those who are highly sexualized and inevitably attracted to Liam, and Liam’s mother. Liam notices a woman’s physical attributes first and is most likely to continue to see the women who then show signs of being a good caregiver. The few women characters who do develop longer-lasting relationships with Liam share traits with his mother. The male characters are not much of an improvement, as very little characterization goes into members of either gender beyond the physical.
The novel often focuses on food, which is described in as much or more detail as Liam’s sexual encounters. This equivalence conveys the sensuality of food and suggests that the appetite of Liam’s stomach is equal to his sexual appetite. Both scenes where Liam is eating and those where he is copulating are shown to give him more than just the gratitude of satisfying his appetite: they also give him a sense of companionship.
While the majority of the novel studies Liam and follows his day-to-day activities, occasional plot twists introduce action, as when a violent opposer threatens Liam and his family. However, such dire moments are brief: Liam and his parents have no trouble obliterating the opposition with their convenient skills in martial arts and impeccable aim with a crossbow. Such intermittent scenes add temporary excitement but also feel out of place.
There are little to no consequences to character actions. All relationships are flexible and open, with no guilt, jealousy, or sexual repercussions, effectually making the novel a stereotypical male fantasy.
Liam is free to live the sumptuous, unadulterated life he desires without any worry. With Liam’s animalistic desires examined against the background of an average household in an average town, they are unrealistically normalized.
The Amorous Postman is an erotic work that indulges in the most basic human desires.
Reviewed by
Renate Childs
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
