Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Epistolary Novels (Or Books Written in Letters)

The book I'm writing right now is told using letters, traditional narration, field reports, journal entries, receipts, (eventually) pictures. A scrapbook made up of bits and pieces of information from eight different people, compiled to tell a story.

So I'm on the lookout for novels written in letters or journal entries or memos or what have you. Some of my favorites are:

Letters from Rifka by Karen Hesse
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I think this is Hesse's best book, and that is saying a lot. A beautiful story of immigration and separation and love and renewal. This is a fantastic book for a parent to read aloud or a whole family to read together and discuss. It would also be a perfect choice for a mother-daughter book club.


And I love the adult novel: The Guernsey Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.
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I just love it.

And I really loved the sweet romance in this historical fiction novel told in diary entries:Product Details
Mable Riley by Marthe Jocelyn

I'd love any suggestions for great books written in this (or any other unusual format). I've been craving historical fiction lately too, so I'd love any suggestions in that direction.


3 comments:

  1. Have you read Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn? It is another great epistolary novel that has a fun play on the importance of the alphabet. There is also Mark Twain's Letters from the Earth. Dear Mr. Henshaw is another classic. As far as historical fiction goes Irving Stone wrote several interesting novels on subjects from Leonardo to Mary Todd Lincoln.

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  2. These is My Words, by Nancy Turner. One of my absolute favorites!

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  3. These is My Words by Nancy Turner. One of my absolute favorites!

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