Postcards from a Dead Girl
by Kirk Farber

List Price: $13.99
Pages: 272
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780061834479
Publisher: Harper Perennial

Postcards from a Dead Girl is a touching, almost cinematic debut novel featuring the eccentric, slightly disturbed, and unique character Sid, who finds himself obsessed by the mysterious postcards that arrive in the mail from his missing ex-girlfriend.

Sid Higgins, a telemarketer at a travel agency, is in the midst of a crisis: his sales are down, he thinks he might have a brain tumor, and his ex-girlfriend Zoe is sending him postcards from exotic locations --- the first he’s heard from her since she disappeared a year ago. Is Zoe taunting him, rubbing it in that she’s on the great adventure they were to take together?

Part Walter Mitty, part Woody Allen, Sid must come to terms with the dark reality of his past to make way for his future. Will our hero Sid ever find love again? Wonderfully poignant and macabre, Postcards from a Dead Girl marks the debut of a gifted and original new voice.

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1. How does the first person narrator impact your ability to understand Sid’s experiences?

2. Sid lives alone in the house where he grew up, but now his parents are deceased and his sister is married and living elsewhere. How does this affect him emotionally? How would you charactarize Sid’s feelings towards his sister, Natalie?

3. Sid’s memories of his relationship with Zoe change throughout the story. How do they differ from beginning to end?

4. Sid has three romantic relationships in the novel. How do Zoe, Candyce and Melanie affect him differently? How does he treat them?

5. The characters surrounding Sid seem to live their lives effortlessly while Sid is always struggling. Which characters in particular show this contrast?

6. Sid has frequent trouble with communication. He misunderstands his boss and his doctor, is confused by foreign languages on his trip to Europe, and cell phones won’t stay connected. Does he ever manage to communicate clearly with anyone? How much of this is his own doing?

7. Given the loss of both his parents, Sid seems fixated on death. What imagery appears throughout the story to reflect this?

8. Sunshine and light are also frequent images. How does the sun affect Sid in places like New Jersey, Barcelona, and Highway 20?

9. Sid has a powerful experience on Highway 20. How does this change him?

10. From where do you think the postcards orginated? Why do you think Sid resolves the postcard situation the way he does?

11. What does the final scene of the novel suggest about Sid’s future?

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"Kirk Farber has a style very similar to Chuck Palahniuk, with off-beat observations, a view of our world through a slightly distorted lens, and a tone that’s quite fun and sometimes hilarious and tragic at the same time. I love the voice and irreverence and humor."

— Garth Stein, author of The Art of Racing in the Rain

"A witty, tormented hero surrounded by fascinating, compassionate supporting characters makes this slender debut a surprisingly compulsive read."

— Kirkus Reviews

"Sid Higgins, the appealing, self-deprecating narrator of Farber’s poignant, funny debut, has been receiving postcards from his old girlfriend Zoe. Unfortunately, the whimsical Zoe has disappeared, and the postmarks on the cards are more than a year old. Sid’s older sister, Natalie, a doctor who provides welcome perspective on Sid, is by turns affectionate, irritated, and supportive."

— Publishers Weekly