When you decide to read a novel, you essentially sign up to suspend your disbelief and agree to treat the subject matter as if they were real events. Some authors go a step further by creating letters, journal/diary entries, news articles, and court transcripts in order to sell the believability of these events.
I’ve always wanted to write an epistolary novel, and my motivation is driven by the novels I’ve read that have pulled off this unique storytelling style in the most effective ways. In part 2 of my two-part series, I’m going to explore epistolary novels and how the style impacts the story as a whole.
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Documenting fiction
The decision to tell a fictional story through letters, diary/journal entries, etc. is a bold one. The story needs to feel like it’s pieced together while still hitting all of the right storytelling beats.
It’s a very restrictive style of writing which challenges the author to work around limited perspectives that may clash depending on the knowledge presented to each character who is retelling the story and the type of documentation they are providing to the story. However, this is a great opportunity for the author to get creative in introducing multiple points of view, unreliable narration, and open-ended resolutions where only the reader, if anyone, gets the full story, or at least the full story from a single writer’s point of view.
Multiple perspectives
While the epistolary format is a great way to draw a reader in, it can become redundant to hear a limited perspective written after the events have occurred when the writer has time to scribble them down. Especially when the conflict is intense and even horrific, it tends to suck the air out of the room when you know the writer has lived to document their experience. It can also leave the reader wishing they had access to just more than this limited perspective.
I immediately turn to Bram Stoker’s Dracula when thinking about horror novels that expertly pull off the epistolary style in an effective way that doesn’t diminish the suspense or the action. Opening with Jonathan Harker’s journal, the reader follows along with him as what would become the iconic attributes of Count Dracula slowly unfold through his experience staying in Dracula’s castle.
Once his ordeal comes to a close, the novel switches to the feminine perspectives of his future wife, Mina, and her best friend, Lucy. Their initial friendly interactions and impressions through letters and their own journal entries help the intensity of Jonathan’s narrative subside only to then build again as Lucy becomes Dracula’s next victim in a long and drawn out medical mystery that shakes her and her loved ones.
From there, the story builds a team of avenging heroes to take down the villain. The perspectives begin to flipflop in shorter and shorter excerpts that speed up the pacing and create avenues to build on details and points of view to come to an action-packed conclusion without giving away who will survive and who will perish in the final battle.
Also, check out my post, 9 Great Vampire Tropes, here!
Scrapbook epistolary novels
Probably my favorite of all epistolary novels is Stephen King’s debut work, Carrie. Spliced in between an omniscient narrator guiding the events of the story are excerpts from memoirs, news articles, and even seemingly arbitrary documents about the town that come to have a much greater meaning later.
What made Carrie fun to read was the shifting perspectives and the style of those perspectives. It was like reading a scrapbook of events that someone had pieced together to try to make sense of the paranormal events that take place within the story. I especially liked the excerpts from Sue Snell’s memoir, The Shadow Exploded, which shows that, even as an adult, she’s still trying to make sense of what happened, yet try not to sound like she’s crazy for believing that a girl with telekinetic powers went on a killing spree during her senior prom.
The organization of this story was a bold move, especially from a first-time author who really didn’t have a lot of faith in the text but who has said countless times that he still has no way to gauge what readers will respond to. Ultimately, it’s the outcast tale that the public responds to, but for me, it’s inspiring how deep the author goes into building this world by not only creating a straight narrative but a documented account of the events that lives within this fictional world.
What is on the surface a very personal story gets transformed into a cautionary tale that the public takes ownership of and forms different opinions about. In that way, it’s ahead of its time in showing how too many opinions creates a toxic social stew that can cause catastrophic results and misconstrued interpretations of historic events.
Also, check out my post, Three Whistling Kettle Winter Teas Paired with Wintery Stephen King Novels, here!
Unconventional epistolary novels
As technology evolves, so do the methods by which humans can record their thoughts, feelings, and lives. Keeping logs and audio transcripts of events might even be more appropriate for certain subject matter.
Two novels that put a new spin on the epistolary novel are Andy Wier’s The Martian and Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Daisy Jones and the Six. Both use audio logs to tell their very different stories.
The Martian takes place on literally another planet, and his logs, both audio and typed, are protagonist Mark Watney’s only means of communication, even after he makes contact with NASA again. These logs are written or spoken in Watney’s distinct humorous voice which sounds less like the records of an astronaut and more like they are written from the perspective of a stand up comedian. This not only makes the science of the story easier to swallow, but it also makes the reader wish more for his rescue. It’s already easy to root for the stranded human, but making that victim funny and likable heightens the stakes even more.
The book uses different fonts to capture the outside “voices” that pop into Watney’s narrative. From his crew members who left him behind to those on Earth working to bring him back, there are very welcome entries that help Watney to reconnect to the rest of humankind, something that’s crucial for him while isolated for years waiting for rescue. They also serve as small wins in the multi-step process that the rescue takes.
Daisy Jones and the Six is a documentation of interviews meant to capture the rise and fall of a successful rock band that rose to fame in the 60s and 70s. Every chapter follows a specific time frame, and the interviews are injected into that to help tell the story of that time frame.
Each voice is distinct. The perspectives of the events overlap and contradict each other. It’s clear what people misremember, deny, or completely forget while others remain confident that their version of events are true. This isn’t meant to confuse the reader, nor does it. Instead, it shows how many versions of the same event can be both true and false.
This book really feeds into the documentary style of storytelling that is very popular in this day and age. This brings authenticity to a made up series of events, making it more effective in exploring its romantic, creative, and interpersonal themes. It also makes it a very easy read that you speed through because of the transcription format which gets to the point of every person’s perspective because they’re put on the spot and told to just relay one small piece of information at a time.
The stepping stone technique
Another great epistolary format is a book that starts in one format and transitions to another. This also helps the plot to evolve as a character grows or becomes motivated by the events that are set off through the epistolary style of the book.
One of my favorite middle grade books of all time is Beverly Cleary’s Dear Mr. Henshaw. This book begins with a series of letters that a young boy, Leigh, is forced to write to an author as part of a school project. His author happens to write him back, and this kicks off a back and forth correspondence that is very one-sided to the reader who only gets to read Leigh’s letters which only sometimes hint at the advice and other information that the author provided to the protagonist.
Eventually, Mr. Henshaw suggests that Leigh keep a journal. So, he does, and the story’s perspective switches to the journal entries. At first, they’re still addressed to Mr. Henshaw, as it seems to be the easiest way to get Leigh into the habit of writing. Eventually, he drops the Dear Mr. Henshaw opening all together and writes for himself.
Along the way, we learn more about Leigh’s family history, his deep desires, and his growing love of writing as an outlet for a lonely young boy to get his feelings out of his head. As he does, he begins to come out of his shell in real life, form friendships, and make peace with his estranged father after a story about his dad earns him a prize in a writing contest.
This book inspired me, an already aspiring writer, to follow my own writing pursuits. From journaling to writing short stories, it showed how therapeutic writing can be and how it can even change your life. And the best way to do that was by framing it in the way that it did in its epistolary style.
Also check out my post about Dear. Mr. Henshaw here!
What are your favorite epistolary novels or epistolary moments in novels? Leave your answers in the comments below!
Also check out Part 1 related to nonfiction books here!
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