This quick read led me straight to the Internet to research Pablo Neruda, Salvador Allende, Allende's death at the hands of Augusto Pinochet, and to see a picture of Neruda's house in Isla Negra. A historical context of Chile in the early 1970s was crucial to fully appreciating this work of fiction which draws heavily and quite accurately on true events. The essence of this book, however, was the Postman (of course) and his discovery of poetry and love. This is also a book whose setting in the idyllic seaside community of Isla Negra casts its own spell over the story and characters. The movie based on this book was nominated for five Academy Awards and I saw the movie when it first came out in 1995 but never sought out the book it was based upon until now. Good book for piquing interest in a little world history.

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