“On Postal Phantoms and Becoming Cor­rupted” (essay excerpt)
Shortly after The Let­ter Opener was pub­lished, I was invited to give a talk to a large group of book devo­tees about the inspi­ra­tion for the story. Given that the novel was incu­bated in my house­hold let­ter­box, I thought I’d pre­pare for the talk by col­lect­ing a week’s worth of mail as an exer­cise in inventory.
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Interview
Much of The Let­ter Opener takes place in the Unde­liv­er­able Mail Office, a ware­house that “resem­bles a giant pawn­shop.” What research did you under­take to ren­der the details and feel of this unusual place?
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