The girls at The blue bookcase have set the question of a literary device you like and give an example ,well I ve choosen the Epistolary novel .thus a novel told in documents be it letters ,diary entries ,reports or even newspaper stories .From Clarissa through dracula and bellows Herzog this has been a form that has provided some of the greatest work of literature as it usually gives and insight into peoples minds rather than tells us .But in the modern age how is it going to move on with letter writing becoming a dying art ,well I ll point you in the direction of my selection the Austrian novel Love virtually by the Austrian writer Daniel Glattauer a novel of a online love affair told in E-mails a mistaken e-mail sparks two married people to chat about there lives like never before and fall in love with the words they’ve written ,if a lterary device has to move on lik,e the epistolary novel will in the modern age this book surely is one of the first of a new wave ,with e-mail and blogs being the new ways of recording our lives ,with face book and twiiter charting our lives this form has a bright future I look forward to the first novel to use twitter ,for more on the book read my review of it here .
What is your favourite epistolary novel ?
Another one is Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco, it also uses texts emails, blogging etc, another one I’ve just thought of is Jennifer Egan’s A visit from the goon squad which has a chapter written as a powerpoint presentation.
What I’ve read of this style I’ve loved, basically love books that experiment .
yes they both are as well ,I think it mat have a revival as a style recently ,all the best stu
I really love epistolary novels too. Good choice!
Thanks Lola ,all the best stu
My favourite epistolary Novel is Les Liaisons Dangereuses. It’s just so wicked and a delicious read.
I m putting it on my wishlist after you and Rikki mention it ,all the best stu
I second Violet. Dangerous Liaisons is absolutely brilliant. It’s perfect!
I ll have to read this at some point ,all the best stu
Wonderful post, Stu! I read ‘Love Virtually’ sometime back and I loved it! I heard that a sequel is coming out later this year and I can’t wait to read it! Some of my favourite ‘epistolary’ novels are ‘Dracula’ and ‘The Woman in White’ by Wilkie Collins (I think it is epistolary). I want to read Jean Webster’s ‘Daddy Long Legs’ sometime.
I loved dracula when I read it so much more than the films ,yes sqeul coming out every seventh wave catches the story a few years on ,all the best stu
The epistolary was one of my choices too. There are many wonderful examples. I’ve got Les Liaisons Dangereuses on my list for the Back to the Classics challenge. I read it in college and want to read it again.
One my favourite epistolary novels since I was a kid is “Daddy Long Legs”. Even now I find myself picking it up often and reading it from cover to cover. “Dracula” also got added to my list of favs last year. Generally, I think these kind of novels can easily crash and burn if not artistically done!
thats new to me I ll look it up all the best stu
I love epistolary works. My favorites include Imagine This by Sade Adeniran, De Profundis (though not technically fiction) by Oscar Wilde, and a short story in Tropical Fish by Doreen Baingana.
Yes, Kinna , you mentioned that – Sade Adeniran’s Imagine This. I do love epistolary books too, stu.
They are a great form to read ,all the best stu