I suppose that for other forms of media, things like Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity (with the camera recordings) are like new media epistolaries. If such a thing exists!
Interesting that in video format they seem to largely be used for horror.
The epistolary was largely used for horror and such in literary form, too, or like Irving did with his Knickerbocker History of New York, to get away with political satire.
Yep that’s true. I mean, Frankenstein and Dracula are two of the most famous horrors of all time and both are told in a unique way. I suppose it’s a good format for developing uncertainty in the narrator.
I have always enjoyed this format, I think the most recent novel I have read using the style would be Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You? She uses emails. I especially like it in non fiction like 84, Charing Cross Rd by Helene Hanff.
Rooney has such a gift for dialogue. The rhythm of the text in this one is as much a part of the reading experience as the storyline. I really enjoyed the way she writes about friendship. I read a lot of reviews saying that this is not dissimilar to her other books, but I don’t see this as a drawback. Her work explores relationships and human behaviour, so of course there are similarities. It will be interesting to read her next one, Intermezzo.
I argue Remember You Will Die by Eden Robins is an epistolary story with some sprinkled-in narrated chapters. Told primarily through obituaries, dictionary references, news articles, the odd search engine results page or two, it doesn't feel like a book that would appeal to the mass market! Very creative, though.
That does sound creative. Interesting that you don’t think it feels like a mass market novel. Is that just because it’s so different to conventional storytelling?
For right now, that is my reasoning! A lot of the comments I read that disliked it was because of its format and citing it was harder to follow compared to more conventional storytelling methods. But maybe, if/when epistolary novels come back in fashion, it'll be a hit XD
I’ve just finished Joanne Harris’ Broken Light, which is written as alternating LiveJournal blogs and Lifestory diaries, and presented as an album of tracks. It, too, shows the unreliability of each narrator and is also quite gothic. So there’s definitely room for a modern take on epistolary novels.
I read 'The Appeal' by Janice Hellett about a year ago and that used emails and text to tell the whole story. I was nearly put off reading it by the structure, but I'm glad I wasn't - it's a total page turner. Maybe that's epistolary writing for the modern age. (A novel written entirely in ChatGPT Q&As anyone? :)
That’s definitely a modern epistolary novel! Sounds interesting. It’s certainly a unique method and I guess has more impact on a reader if it’s rare rather than commonly used?
The Postmortals, Screwtape letters, World War Z... Some of my favorites that came to mind so far! I really enjoy the found footage genre, and this seems like one of the OG's.
I also can't help but comment on how many passages or quotes I've wanted to pull from this already! I can't believe this was coming out of an 18 year olds writings!
If you are interested in the epistolary format, my 2020 award winning non-fiction family history (The Letters, How a Multiracial American Child Learned About His French Mother and Heritage) is written in that because of all the letters and documents discovered from lawyers, Congresspersons, U.S. State Department, U. s. Army, government officials, NAACP, and of course family members (all deceased). It took 13 years to have letters written in French to be translated. I am currently serializing my story here on Substack. There will be episodes in the Substack version not in the book because it would have made the writings to longer for one book.
Well said! I suppose the equivalent now is the “found footage” film. I actually adore the subgenre. One of my favorites is, of course, Dracula.
The Blair Witch Project comes to mind
Yup! It’s fun, no matter how predictable. To clarify, I meant Dracula as an epistolary novel.
I suppose that for other forms of media, things like Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity (with the camera recordings) are like new media epistolaries. If such a thing exists!
Interesting that in video format they seem to largely be used for horror.
The epistolary was largely used for horror and such in literary form, too, or like Irving did with his Knickerbocker History of New York, to get away with political satire.
Yep that’s true. I mean, Frankenstein and Dracula are two of the most famous horrors of all time and both are told in a unique way. I suppose it’s a good format for developing uncertainty in the narrator.
I have always enjoyed this format, I think the most recent novel I have read using the style would be Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You? She uses emails. I especially like it in non fiction like 84, Charing Cross Rd by Helene Hanff.
It definitely makes sense for non-fiction. I’ve not read any Sally Rooney and have heard mixed things from people who have! How did you find it?
Rooney has such a gift for dialogue. The rhythm of the text in this one is as much a part of the reading experience as the storyline. I really enjoyed the way she writes about friendship. I read a lot of reviews saying that this is not dissimilar to her other books, but I don’t see this as a drawback. Her work explores relationships and human behaviour, so of course there are similarities. It will be interesting to read her next one, Intermezzo.
I argue Remember You Will Die by Eden Robins is an epistolary story with some sprinkled-in narrated chapters. Told primarily through obituaries, dictionary references, news articles, the odd search engine results page or two, it doesn't feel like a book that would appeal to the mass market! Very creative, though.
That does sound creative. Interesting that you don’t think it feels like a mass market novel. Is that just because it’s so different to conventional storytelling?
For right now, that is my reasoning! A lot of the comments I read that disliked it was because of its format and citing it was harder to follow compared to more conventional storytelling methods. But maybe, if/when epistolary novels come back in fashion, it'll be a hit XD
I’ve just finished Joanne Harris’ Broken Light, which is written as alternating LiveJournal blogs and Lifestory diaries, and presented as an album of tracks. It, too, shows the unreliability of each narrator and is also quite gothic. So there’s definitely room for a modern take on epistolary novels.
I read 'The Appeal' by Janice Hellett about a year ago and that used emails and text to tell the whole story. I was nearly put off reading it by the structure, but I'm glad I wasn't - it's a total page turner. Maybe that's epistolary writing for the modern age. (A novel written entirely in ChatGPT Q&As anyone? :)
That’s definitely a modern epistolary novel! Sounds interesting. It’s certainly a unique method and I guess has more impact on a reader if it’s rare rather than commonly used?
The Postmortals, Screwtape letters, World War Z... Some of my favorites that came to mind so far! I really enjoy the found footage genre, and this seems like one of the OG's.
I also can't help but comment on how many passages or quotes I've wanted to pull from this already! I can't believe this was coming out of an 18 year olds writings!
If you are interested in the epistolary format, my 2020 award winning non-fiction family history (The Letters, How a Multiracial American Child Learned About His French Mother and Heritage) is written in that because of all the letters and documents discovered from lawyers, Congresspersons, U.S. State Department, U. s. Army, government officials, NAACP, and of course family members (all deceased). It took 13 years to have letters written in French to be translated. I am currently serializing my story here on Substack. There will be episodes in the Substack version not in the book because it would have made the writings to longer for one book.