The Post-Office Girl is a profound exploration of human emotions against the backdrop of a commodified world. Christine, a diligent worker in a provincial post office in post–World War I Austria, finds herself trapped in a country gripped by unemployment and despair.

Out of the blue, a telegram arrives from her affluent American aunt, inviting Christine to a luxurious resort in the Swiss Alps. Christine is swept into a world of unimaginable wealth and unleashed desires, feeling utterly transformed: nothing is impossible.

However, this dreamlike existence is abruptly shattered when her aunt cuts her off, sending Christine back to her mundane reality. Back at the post office, she meets Ferdinand, a bitter war veteran and disillusioned architect. Together, they are drawn into a relationship marked by deprivation, anger, and shame.

In a world where work, politics, love, and sex seem impossible, Christine and Ferdinand contemplate a desperate and decisive act to secretly remake their world from within.

This haunting novel, completed during the 1930s, captures the essence of a modern master's achievement, blending elements of Cinderella with Bonnie and Clyde in a narrative that is both hard-as-nails and deeply affecting.