Use of Letters

[dwndrgn]

There are actually several famous books that are made up of, in whole or in part, by letters written between characters. I have to admit that in the past I wasn't terribly fond of this practice - I usually found it a bit jarring and it didn't seem to flow with the story.

However, lately I've been reading a few of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's St. Germain stories and she utilizes this feature regularly. However, in her case, the letters are not normally between main characters, they are secondary characters. In addition, her letters advance the story without having to go into detail. Generally there is a letter at the beginning of each chapter, or the end of each, whichever you prefer She uses the text of the letter to allow one character to tell another basically what happens next, and sort of lays out where/when/why you'll find the main characters in the next chapter. I found it to be a very clever way for the author to give the reader information without having to construct it out of the air, or mentioning it in the text when they aren't important except to show the reader why the lead character is now 300 miles away and it is months later...

What do you guys think about the use of this device? Have you encountered a lot of it? Is it annoying or just another device?

 

[Foxbat]

Like yourself I'm not too fond of the technique but, I suppose, like any technique, it needs to be used cleverly to gain the desired effect. Perhaps I just haven't read the right book yet

 

[Kraken]

I've only read a couple of books that use the technique, but when it's used well I think it can be very effective.

In Sorcery and Cecelia the plot is entirely told through letters between the two main characters; the thing that struck me most about it is that it allowed the entire novel to be written in first person, which is unusual, and it's an easy way to shift between viewpoints.

Sections of China Meiville's The Scar are written as an open letter, and I did find it a little irritating, since there didn't seem to be enough reason to use the device.

 

[littlemissattitude]

I've also admired the way Yarbro uses letters between chapters to get information into the story that would be difficult to fit in any other way.

I really like the idea of writing a complete novel using this device, and aspire to do so one day. Just waiting for the right idea to come along. I've liked this way of writing ever since I read a mainstream novel called "Up The Down Staircase", by Bel Kaufman, years ago. It is the story of a first-time teacher in an inner-city high school, and is told completely through letters, notes, student-written assignments, inter-office memos, and the like - no conventional narrative at all. It works beautifully, IMO. It's a book I go back and re-read occasionally - it's getting about time to do so again - and I recommend it highly.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Racking my brains - didn't Dracula use this a lot in the first few chapters? I'm under the impression that it enjoyed popularity as a device in the 19th century. Nowadays - used with care.

 

[Lacedaemonian]

It is quite difficult to bridge chapters effectively, and I supposed that this device does work. Shakespeare used a Chorus to bridge his scenes/acts. Can anybody else think of interesting ways that authors convey information without damaging the flow of the story?

 

[Silk]

I'm under the impression that it enjoyed popularity as a device in the 19th century. Nowadays - used with care.

I once heard (don't ask how) that part of the reason Charlotte Bronte wrote pride and prejudice was because she was fed up of reading books that were full people writing letters two each other to get the story across.

I always thought that was quite funny seeing as she put a lot of the story across in the letters received by Elizabeth Bennet!

 

[Princess Ivy]

I've never been a fan of this technique. I tend to feel that it is lazyness. One of the reasons that while i have watched most dracula versions, I never did manage to plough through the book.