September 2025 "Friendship in Its Purest Form: Lessons from The Postman by Antonio Skarmeta" -Adan Perez Herrera

During my last summer break, I decided I wanted to read a book, but not an academic one. I realized I didn't have any new books, so I went to the bookstore. While shopping, I came across a book called The Postman, written by Antonio Skarmeta. At first, I wasn’t sure whether I should get it or not, but in the end, I decided to buy it, and I consider it one of the best non-academic books I have read.

The Postman is a novel in which a young man named Mario Jiménez decides to abandon a traditional occupation (fishing) and, by chance, becomes the “personal” postman of Pablo Neruda, a famous Latin American poet. Once Mario gains a certain degree of trust, he asks Neruda to dedicate a book to him, a request that Neruda accepts.

From this moment, an adventure begins for two main reasons: first, Neruda teaches the young man how to create a particular kind of poetry, especially metaphors; and second, Neruda himself helps Mario win the heart of Beatriz, a beautiful young woman (described as such in the book) who, after some difficulties, eventually accepts Mario as her spouse. Through these two events, a strong friendship develops between Neruda and Mario, a friendship that remains faithful even until the poet’s death.

As I read this book, various themes of reflection arose, and as the dialogues flowed, I often found myself moved to tears. The central theme of the book is friendship, which is portrayed through the characters Mario and Neruda, who remain loyal to one another. It led me to wonder whether, as Aristotle once said, friendship always begins with an interest. In this text, perhaps at the beginning, such an interest does exist: “…he planned that one day, when the poet seemed in a good mood, he would slip the book in along with the mail and secure an autograph with which to boast before the hypothetical yet beautiful women he might one day meet in San Antonio.”

The friendship may have begun with Mario’s self-interest, but it has matured into a selfless bond. This is clear in the poet’s final moments, when Mario’s embrace reflects not gain but the pain of losing a friend: “Don’t die, poet.” What remains is no longer self-interest but the pain of losing a friend, something that cannot be fully explained, only felt. The Postman is a story about the transformative power of true friendship. The book ultimately reminds us that true friendship is not about what we can gain, but about what we are willing to share with one another.