With texts and DMs now commonplace, letters have become non-existent. However, letters used to be incredibly modern. They used to be a place for love, a place for argument, and a place for storytelling. Now, plenty of books have used this old fashioned as a form of just that: storytelling.
These books bring the retro style of letter writing into the new world and compellingly fashion them. The letters allow for a more intimate look at a character and the ability to bounce from one new POV to the next. It’s truly a unique way to navigate a story and a fascinating way to bring readers into a story. Let’s shed some light on several books that use this medium to push a story forward, which is a largely forgotten way in the world of modern technology.
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
Starting with the first book to come to many minds: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. The YA book by Jenny Han follows the aftermath of Lara Jean’s life when a series of her love letters are anonymously sent out without her consent. The book honors and acknowledges the art form as a romantic and intimate act between the writer and the intended. Han is also able to make these letters a natural element in a story set in the 21st century with the way she crafts her main character: Lara Jean.
A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall
The only fantasy novel on the list, A Letter to the Luminous Deep tells a story set in an underwater world. The tale is told through pen-pals’s letters that reveal their academic goals in a competitive school while touching on their budding romance. The magical world the novel creates is not lost through the letters but rather amplified in the characters and writing style.
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Attachments brings letter writing into its more modern form: email. Written as a series of emails sent back and forth between two coworkers, the book captures much of the same letter-to-letter correspondents. Rowell dynamically uses the confines of letter writing and the traditions associated with letter writing to develop the story. Her writing relies on the characters’ writing tones, which creates a wildly entertaining story.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
This classic, The Color Purple, is a story told between two sisters, unraveled by a series of letters the two share. In a heartfelt and dramatic tale, the sisters address heartbreak, pain, suffering, and change. As they’ve gotten older, the sisters’ relationship has changed and the world they live in has changed. The letters are used as an intimate way to examine their world and circumstances as the letters are intended for their closest relatives. The readers are allowed a peek into a world unknown.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Another classic on the list is Frankenstein. Many may not know, but Shelley’s infamous story is told through letters from a sea captain’s exploration into the Arctic. The beyond-familiar tale is a great addition to this list in the way that it can create present horror with a past tale. The readers soon lose the safety they receive from the past tense of the letters as Shelley’s writing expertly brings terror to the page.
This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
One of the most interesting uses of these forms, This Is How You Lose The Time War, compiles a collection of letters written by pen-pals during a time of war. Though the pair share details of their lives and the ways they are coping with their circumstances, the two do not know that they are fighting on opposing sides of the war. As the efforts rage on, their letters reveal their realities and call the reader to pick a side between writers.
Things Have Gotten Worse Since Last We Spoke by Eric LaRocca
Much like Attachments, Things Have Gotten Worse Since Last We Spoke touches on letters in its more modern medium. A story told through a series of messages on an online site, this book drives its story through letters written between two characters. Much like the art of letter writing, the novella relies on the time it takes between correspondences to tell its tale. However, unlike other novels in this collection, this novella is horrific in its story.
Letter writing is a lost form. It was the way to communicate with anyone and everyone. The form has since taken a back burner and nearly disappeared into the background; however, as these books prove, the form has not completely disappeared.
Want to get some writing tips? Need some ideas on where to start with your writing? Check out Bookstr’s Writing for Connection: The Best Insights from Author Kate Doyle.
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