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Sep 30, 2011

Sasha added it

It’s the story of Sid Higgins–quirky and awkward and funny and sad and witty and slightly off-kilter Sid Higgins–who starts getting, well, postcards from Zoe, his dead (?) girlfriend. [There's a question mark there, because as the story moves forward, there are several arguments (most in Sid's head) about the dubiousness of Zoe's death. Sometimes, she's just lost. Sometimes, she'd just walked away.] Add to the mix a loving yet bossy sister, a slew of post office workers, Sid’s mother haunting a More...

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Apr 03, 2011

Katie rated it:

I’ll admit, I decided to read this solely because Marc Johns did the book cover. Anything he collaborates on has to be awesome, right? Well, in this case, that turned out to be true.

The book is about a guy named Sid, who works as a telemarketer for Wanderlust, a travel agency where his overly enthusiastic boss drives him crazy. He lives alone in his childhood home with his dog Zero and constantly calls his sister Natalie, a doctor, to tell her that he thinks he has a brain tumor. In fa More...

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Nov 11, 2010

Debbie rated it:

I facilitate a bookclub at a public library. This wonderful book caused quite a stir with the group. The story is simple enough, once you finish the book that is. Sid, a damaged vacation telemarketer, is receiving postcards from Zoe. Zoe, his one time love, now absent in an unexplained way. Sid can't reach her but she reaches him with regular postcards from all around the world. Postcards all postmarked one year earlier. Who is sending the postcards, why won't Zoe answer her phone, who is More...

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Sep 27, 2010

Linda rated it:

This is an entertaining read by a first-time author who is actually a colleague of mine at PPLD. Kirk is pretty understated in real life, although quite engaging, and that is exactly how I would characterize this book about a guy named Sid. Sid relaxes by taking himself and his car through the carwash again and again, sometimes with his dog, and by sprawling in the mud in his homemade spa in the backyard. I suffered with Sid and all of his humiliations; talking himself out of and into peace of More...

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Apr 24, 2010

Jessica rated it:

At least it was quick read. Sid was slowly going crazy, and he started to drag me down that slippery slope with him.

The story was quirky, and at times amusing, but mostly it was unnerving. The reader is the sole person who has visibility to the depth of Sid's neurosis, and it seems as though there's no end in sight. He thinks Natalie wants to have him committed. I think it probably would have been a very good idea, early on.

The presence of his mom was an unexpected surpri More...

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Feb 19, 2010

Ron rated it:

In a very unusual way, it's fortunate that I've been ill for a few days. My to-read stack is at least a couple of dozen, and has been for months. I left my house for a few hours on Wednesday to see Kirk's launch signing at the venerable Tattered Cover in Lodo. (When I worked with the Denver International Film Festival, directors, writers, and actors from around the world wanted to visit the Tattered Cover in Cherry Creek.)

I brought the freshly signed copy home and started upstairs to More...

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Jul 28, 2010

Jessi rated it:

Summary: A telemarketer at a travel agency, Sid is becoming unhinged and superneurotic. His hypochondria is driving his doctor sister mad. And it's all because his ex-girlfriend, Zoe, who's sending him postcards from her European adventure, one that they were supposed to take together. Sid needs to get over Zoe and find love again--even though Zoe, apparently, has no inclination to be gotten over.--From publisher's description.

First Line: The postcard is everything, but looks like no More...

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Aug 21, 2011

Jenny rated it:

I picked this up when iBooks put some titles on sale for 99cents, and I'm glad I did! This was a quick read, but I was never quite sure I knew if the main character, Sid, was crazy or if the world around him was. (That question gets answered around the time he starts playing in the mud, really). His girlfriend is dead, and so are his parents, and he is working a telemarketing job, which would make anyone insane.

The older sister reminds me so much of the older sister character on More...

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Mar 09, 2010

Lori rated it:

Thanks to HarperPerennial for sending me this review copy of "Postcards From a Dead Girl" by Kirk Farber.

I was not really sure what to think when I first saw the cover of this novel - with it's lone man standing in an apartment window watching postcards rain down from the sky. But after reading the first few paragraphs, I knew I had a great little book in my hands.

I'm a sucker for a fucked up lead guy. And oh boy is Sid fucked up. Here's his deal: He currently w More...

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Mar 11, 2010

LynnB rated it:

Postcards from a Dead Girl is a book that I couldn't put down. At the beginning I thought it just odd and and even amusing at times, but by the end I realized that the story was so much more. Sid starts out with an obsession about car washes, his health, postcards from his ex-girlfriend, and mud baths. Through conversations with his sister, his deceased mother, and various women he dates, Sid's life unfolds with various twists and turns. The story is all about dealing with the end of a relat More...

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Mar 01, 2010

Laura Stone rated it:

This quirky story of difficulty in dealing with the end of a relationship reminded me of several young adult books. I suppose it's just the age of the protagonist that makes it an adult book. Disconsolate Sid Higgins is an endearing dysfunctional character we want to root for, and the mystery of the postcards will make for cult discussion groups. Good fun.
Similar YA books:
Someday This Pain Will be Useful to You - character’s troubled soul
Marcelo in the Real World – protagon More...

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Oct 10, 2011

Kaleb rated it:

so we have this guy Sid who has seemingly lost 'it' - who else buys ten credits at the local automatic car wash (at $4.50 a round) and uses as many as they can before another patron comes along.. hello? and his missing ex sounds like a mess in her own right: "I'm cute.. you would miss me if I were dead", she said - at least once. and then there are the postcards that keep arriving, from all over the globe (Hoboken, Nice, Lyon..) - all postmarked from a year past - from the ex: Zoe. More...

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Mar 13, 2010

Cheryl rated it:

Sid works as a telemarketer at a travel agency. His life gets turned upside down when he starts receiving postcards from his girlfriend, Zoe. Sid receives about a dozen. The postcards range from Amsterdam to Paris. Zoe doesn’t say much on the postcards other than the standard “Have a good time, wish you were here”. So now you would wonder, how can postcards cause so much uproar? It is because Zoe is dead! What does Zoe want from Sid? Sid decides to follow the trail of postcards from all over Eur More...

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Mar 15, 2010

Jessica rated it:

Sydney had a wonderful and beautiful girlfriend (who after many chapters we find out she’s dead) who is sending him postcards from around the world documenting her worldly adventures she wanted to have without him. Sydney is stuck in a lame job that he gets nothing out of and spends his time thinking of Zoe (the girl). I read the whole book. I kept reading to find out if he had lost his mind and he was maybe sending himself the postcards. I didn’t read all of it because it was thought provok More...

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Oct 10, 2011

Dawn rated it:

Loved this book. Happenstance led me to this book when I went to a library I had not been in, ever. With this first visit brought a delightful book which I finished in less than 24 hours. It must have entered my life at the right moment because I connected with Sid and felt that his experience was mine, as well. Good timing. I won't give the synopsis but will say the conflicting realities and perceptions are often over-lapped and one can't tell the difference between the two. People are wa More...

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May 17, 2011

Tatiana rated it:

I don’t really know what to say about this book because I was left scratching my head towards the end…But basically, Sid (the main character) is crazy. He’s a bit whiny, and self-centered, and at times I found him very unlikable.

The humor in this book is tiny bit dark I suppose, but at the same time…not. It’s really hard to explain this story, it’s very odd, and original.

I don’t know if I’ll be re-reading this or not…If I do it’ll be to see if the second go around will ma More...

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Oct 31, 2010

Deedles rated it:

I enjoyed this book. Crazy-yep Sid was going crazy and I think he was just trying to get through his own bad time in his own crazy ways. Whatever worked for him at the time. Continuous car washes, mud baths, mom in a bottle, etc. Glad to see Sid seemed to find some peace in the end.
I'm still wondering who sent him all the postcards.
This book had some really great lines. One of my favorites-
" The kitchen clock, bedroom clock, and my watch will on occasion tick at the exact sa More...

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Aug 18, 2011

Travis rated it:

Postcards from a Dead Girl showed a lot of promise based on the conceit of the novel. Unfortunately, it can't live up to those expectations. There isn't quite an interesting enough of a plot to work as a good genre novel, and Sid, the main character, just isn't interesting enough to feel like good literary fiction. What you get is something that feels like a little bit of both that doesn't quite go far enough. Honestly, it's an average book that didn't really captivate me, but didn't annoy me en More...

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Dec 23, 2011

Megan rated it:

Sometimes I found Sid to be really funny. Most of the time I found that I didn't actually know all that much about him. What was his room like? Why didn't he have any friends? The last one I was especially caught up on. There were literally zero mentions of friends ever. I found this troubling and it made him a much less likeable character, and considering how irresponsible he was over most things, I was mostly irritated with him.

Also, the timeline in this book just wasn't clear enoug More...

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Mar 04, 2011

Shannon rated it:

How often do you get to read quirky stories about people inured in their own inner stories...written by people you know?

Kirk's story is just fun, and though the narrative is very punchy that sometimes makes the whole thing feel like the set up for a joke (didja hear the one about the guy who couldn't get enough of car washes?), it is tinged with a realistic sadness that is driving the protagonist character (Sid) to distraction, and morbid distraction at that.

And besides, Kirk More...

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Oct 19, 2010

Katy rated it:

Reading this book made me sad. Sid was sad, and it was painful to know how troubled he was, that he had some fairly serious mental and emotional problems, and that while he was aware of his problems, he was reluctant to seek help that he very badly needed.

But reading this book also made me sad for myself. If Sid, who is somewhat emotionally and socially crippled, has the propensity to attract women and have relationships with them, why is it that I have so much difficulty dating? More...

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Mar 15, 2010

Gretchen rated it:

This book was an easy read. The chapters are short (and they all start on the right hand page, I dig this) and this makes the book read faster. The book starts out with Sid having some mental issues and it seems like it took awhile to get to the reason why and why he was doing what he was doing. The book kept you guessing as to what had actually happened to him to make him act the way he is. I felt that this book was well written and would look for another book by Kirk Farber.

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Apr 03, 2010

Jessica rated it:

This story was quirky and cute. The main character brings a whole new meaning to the term "neurotic" (he tries to build a mud spa in his back yard, for example). The story is well written and enjoyable, even a little dark. Not every mystery is explained, which is a bit frustrating, but I think also part of the point. The characters are realistic and interesting, including the dog, Zero. I really look forward to reading other works by Farber.

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Sep 15, 2010

Scott rated it:

I don't often read "literary fiction." And I admit I encountered this novel as an assignment. I read it as fast as I could after stopping though. Farber writes in a unique, postcardesque modular style, snapping vignettes from the life of the narrator. The voice is so strong, and the black humor so effective that I enjoyed this novel despite a narrator whose actions weren't always sympathetic but never failed to be entertaining.

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Sep 13, 2011

Jenn rated it:

Kirk Farber has written a crazy little mystery surrounding, as the title states, postcards from a dead girl. But questions abound throughout the novel. Is she really dead? Are the postcards really from her? Is Sid, the main character, just bat-ass crazy?

Floating along on a sea of detached thoughts, Sid barely makes it through his days. Farber's use of short chapters and detached imagery establishes Sid's own thought processes. Sid tries to not think too much about any one thing More...

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Aug 26, 2010

Marie rated it:

The book flowed in the direction that I thought it would--didn't have any surprises. Very short chpaters which made it easy to read but too easy to lay stop quickly and lay the book down for awhile. I did think it was truthful in interpreting a person who went thorugh a traumatic experience. It was interesting how the character would perceive things, hear things, and react to things that may not necessarily be actually happening in reality. I thought there was truth in that.

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Oct 07, 2010

Jennie rated it:

Really, really different. I love the title and the idea behind this story but it never really happened for me. I kept waiting for some action, or to like the narrator better, but it just got stranger and stranger. I gave it to a friend of mine who is less patient and after giving up dumped it off in an airport. Maybe it will work for someone else.

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Dec 29, 2010

nicole rated it:

I'm a softie for stories of eccentric boys with deep-seeded angst, so this book hit the spot. It was a quick read for me, and although I sort of saw where it was headed, I still winced when it got there. I'd recommend to a certain story of love story person - the Lars and the Real Girl, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind sort.

E-read.

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Mar 16, 2010

Robert rated it:

I loved this fresh, breezy, quirky book. Sid is infectious as protagonist who cannot resolve the pain of his missing (?) girlfriend, Zoe. The novel has quick-read chapters and I felt like I couldn't put it down. Great first effort from a young novelist. Can't wait to read more of his work.

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Feb 08, 2010

Deanna rated it:

I won this book through goodreads first-reads. I really enjoyed the book. It was a fast read, but had some complexity. You follow Sid throughout the book, and every time you think you know him, you find a twist. The more the read the more you feel for Sid and his quirks. I will read more of Kirk Farber's books, I like his style.

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