Hi guys! Have you ever read an epistolary novel?
It's a story that uses letters, found notes, diary entries, newspaper clippings, etc., to help tell a story. They can be monologic (all letters/entries from one character), dialogic (from two characters), or polylogic (multiple).
The great thing about this type of novel is you can get different view points without using an omnicient narrator. Also, it can seem as if the story is non-fiction, when it isn't.
Dracula, by Bram Stoker is an epistolary novel written entirely with documents such as these. Even if it's not a novel, I can't help but mention Love Letters, a play by A. R. Gurney which I really enjoyed from a while ago. The two characters sat side by side the whole play and read letters to each other that span decades.
Many other novels will use documents to aid in the narrative, but won't have the entire story via documents, such as Stephen King's Carrie or Jandy Nelson's The Sky is Everywhere.
Fictional diaries are also a type of epistolary novel. Think Bridget Jone's Diary, or Flowers for Algernon.
Do you have a favorite epistolary novel?
28 comments:
I did like Lemony Snicket and A Series of Unfortyante Events. There was a movie with Jim Carrey made too.
I'm sure I must have read something like this, but I'm drawing a blank.
Need. More. Caffeine.
Happy Friday!
Um, does the Dear America series count? :)
Wow, I can't think of any. I guess that means I need to read some from your suggestions.
The epistolary genre exists, but I wonder why it's not so popular among writers. I love all the examples of epistolary novels that you have indicated.
I don't think I've read one where the entire thing is written in documents. I do like it when books use other documents to supplement the story. For example, I found the poems in The Sky is Everywhere moving - sometimes more than the actual narrative.
I'm reading A Brief History of Montmaray right now, and it's written as a diary. I'm quite enjoying it.
I personally LOVE epistolatory novels. One of my MSs is told through three journals. It's not all the letters, news clippings, etc., of some, but it was fun to write and I think it's so interesting to read. But I'm one of those who likes reading others' diaries... LOL! :D It's the snoop in me~ <3
Hmmm...what about The Vampire Diaries by L.J.Smith? There were some entries in those books here and there.
Also, what a beautiful blog you've got here! Nice!
How about Dangerous Liaisons?
Hmmm, I don't know if I have a favorite...probably House of Leaves, if you forced me to answer. ;)
Good examples of this! I know there are more out there, but I can't think of them right off. Yep, it's the thrill of reading someone else's "diary." I like them okay but rather prefer more prose-style ones. There are also novels in verse, and Lauren Myracle's novel entitled ttyl used IM language like texting throughout (rather difficult to read, IMHO).
Dracula, definitely. Also, bits of Frankenstein is written this way. I love the style. Great post.
I had to rack my brain to think of one but I have read The Diary of Anne Frank years ago. I think It's a very powerful style.
Stephen King's Carrie is my favorite. I really liked how he used the court documents and medical report to make the story more real.
Had not heard of the epistolary novel. But Diary of Anne Frank and Bridget Jone's Diary come to mind.
They are my favorite type of novel, but I did kind of like The Vampire Diaries. Should I duck and cover when I say that? ;)
I read Dracula when I was a teenager-and I didn't know it was this type of novel. What a cool idea....
Wakes up the scrabooker in me and wants to try it!
Hmmmm......
I think I should read Dracula! In this time of teen-romance vampire stories, I think it will help me appreciate the genre again!
Yes, very cool kind of story-telling... adds a lot of texture. Can't recall a favorite... and now I am totally distracted by your side bar which I can see in the periphery - and you have the MacGuffin there! I haven't seen that listed in a long time. Ah, ok, where were we? Oh yes, good post!
I love, love Dracula. Edeet Ravel's 10,000 Lovers comes to mind as well. It's all from Lily's POV, but it's like her present self is reading diary entries from her past self.
I really like the concept of a "diary novel."
By the end of the post I was starting to get the idea. I'm sure I've read some but never realised it had a pigeonhole. Fascinating. Bridget Jones' Diary, hum.
Denise<3
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I've never read a whole epistolary novel but I loved the use of documents in THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE and other books. :)
Just thought of another one...the popular Diary Of A Wimpy Kid series. I'm reading this with my son and it's so funny!
Pamela by Samuel Richardson is an epistolary novel and is arguably the first novel ever written. It's not a "favorite" of mine. But it's interesting to read to see how novels have evolved over time.
How about The Guernsey Literary and Potato peel Pie Society? I loved that book! Even on CD!!!
Helene Hanff's 84 Charing Cross Road. Of course, it's not fiction but I don't think that matters in this context.
Strangely, I'm mulling over an idea for an epistolary novel at the moment.
I absolutely loved "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" - which was written completely in letter form.
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