Guest Post: Ramona Mead on Epistolary Novels
Ramona helps readers navigate the buzz to find books they'll love without wasting time on her blog, While I Was Reading.
Do you love seeing inside the heads of characters when you read, like I do? I definitely connect more with a story if I understand the characters’ motivations. What I appreciate most about epistolary novels is how they tell a story without any interpretation. There’s no all-knowing narrator to help the reader connect the dots. It’s straight up story, directly from the characters.
All epistolary novels are written as a series of documents. Most commonly, that’s letters, though that can include diary entries, newspaper articles, emails, or any another type of written document. My list below only includes novels that are a collection of letters, although I must say real quick, if you enjoy reading diaries, Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie are hands down two of the best.
But back to letters, these are my favorites:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (1999)
I wish I’d read this novel when it first came out! Set in the early 1990s, the story is told entirely through letters Charlie writes to an unknown recipient. Through the letters, Charlie chronicles his first year of high school with all its ups and downs, as well as trauma and loss he experiences. Though I read it about six years ago, it still brought that time of my life zooming back, especially because of the musical references. I love coming of age stories because they’re universal. Even though my life was quite different from Charlies, the emotions of adolescence are much the same. I connected with his desire to belong.
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn (2001)
This novel is such a cool idea that’s executed extremely well. This collection of letters tells the story of a community of people living on a fictional island off the coast of South Carolina. The island government bans the use of letters of the alphabet as they slowly fall from a memorial statue in the town square. As the letters disappear from the statue, the residents can no longer use those letters when they speak or write to each other. As the letters fall from the statue, they disappear from the book. It's a fascinating look at totalitarianism and to a certain extent, religion. I enjoyed seeing the residents get creative with their language as time progressed and they had fewer letters to work with. It's also a good look at human nature and relationships.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (2008)
While I generally avoid WWII fiction, this one has a sweet story at its center that I enjoyed. This work of historical fiction tells the story of the residents of the island of Geurnsey and how books helped them endure the German occupation. The series of letters are sent to and from the multiple characters which gives different perspectives on the events that occur. While heavy at times, this is ultimately a hopeful story of resilience and lasting friendships.
Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira, Translated by Dạ Oanh (2014)
Whenever I read young adult fiction, I’m amazed at how the feelings of teen angst and heartbreak come rushing back over me. Here, our letter writer’s strong emotional connection throughout the book resonated with me deeply. Laurel’s get an English class assignment to write a letter to a dead person. She writes to Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him and he died young, like May did. Eventually Laurel’s notebook is full of letters to dead celebrities like Amy Winehouse, Heath Ledger, and Amelia Earhart. In these letters, she writes about her day to day life, and more significant events like falling in love for the first time. With time, Laurel begins to explore the abuse she suffered and the death of her sister. The letters are a powerful look into the world of someone processing a great deal of grief.
Another thing I like about novels containing letters is that they often inspire me to write to my own. They’re not always letters I send, but I’m always glad to write them.
I hope you enjoy these novels and find some inspiration in them to write a letter of your own!
Hi, I'm Ramona and I blog about all things book related at While I Was Reading (www.Ramonamead.com) Through my website, I host reading challenges and a book club. I also provide curated book recommendation lists for readers. My strong intuition guides me to recommend the right books. I'd love to help you on your reading journey, so find me at my website or on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
My life's mission is connecting with people through story. I’ve loved books since before I could even read and I’ve been writing non-fiction since college. I strive to introduce readers to content and authors which may be outside their bookish comfort zone. I want to encourage discussion not only about books, but how we relate to them in regard to our own personal histories.
I enjoy listening to audio books while working on jigsaw puzzles or doing cross stitch. When I'm not reading or writing (which is rare!) I try to get outside with my dogs and husband here in southwest Montana. We have a serious garden that keeps us busy in warmer months, and we love hiking together.
Ramona in her amazing book chair
