"Fook Island Envelope & Stamps" (1975) by Walter Battiss
Have you ever heard of an epistolary novel? It is a novel comprised of letters or diary entries. Haig incorporates epistolary interludes into The Midnight Library. How do these interludes affect the reader's experience of the narrative?
Also: what do you make of the shifts in chapter length and how they might contribute to the novel's themes?
I didn't know there was a name for it but I actually really like this form of novel. It makes it more fun to read in my opinion.
ReplyDelete-Byron
I have never heard of an epistolary novel. I think this type of novel makes it easier for readers (or at least me) to understand the narrative better. I think the shift in chapter lengths contribute to the novel's unpredicted theme of never knowing what might happen next.
ReplyDelete-Abby Shropshire
DeleteI have heard of an epistolary novel, but I forgot the name after a while. I think they are very unique novels that tell stories in innovative ways. As Haig incorporates epistolary storytelling into his novel, the reader gets to hear some of the character's thoughts in a third person narrative. It helped me read more into Nora's thought process.
ReplyDeleteThe shifts in chapter length make the story seem more random. I think it connects to the theme of shifting realities because the realities are unpredictable and Nora stays in them for varying amounts of time.
-Denna Bussinger
I don't think I've heard of an epistolary novel. I like the interlude because it reminds us of what Nora is working through. It's like we get a glimpse back to who Nora is in her reality.
ReplyDeleteI think that changing chapter length contributes to the theme because, as Abby Shropshire said, life is unpredictable. As we go through life some parts of our life have a lot change or excitement, while other parts might just seem boring and monotonous.
- Jenna Whitehead
I didn’t know there was a name for that type of book, but I have read a few. I think breaking it up into letters or diary entries helps bring into perspective how life and time moves by in the story. Having it in a small epistolary format also helps to read shorter chapters when you’re in a rush or longer bits when you have time. The book read becomes more flexible. I think that the uncertainty of chapter length, in this book specifically, plays into how important each event in the library is to her by virtue of how much she thinks about it. It shows just how big certain regrets are. The bigger the regret the more time spent on it.
ReplyDelete-Elliot Riden
I have never heard of an epistolary novel. I liked how the interlude would remind us of what Nora is working through and give us a third person narrative. The shifts in chapter length makes it more random for us and feeds into the theme of the book. Nora's different lives are unpredictable and by having the chapter lengths be unpredictble it shows.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of an epistolary novel. This type of novel adds a new element to where you get an insight into the thoughts of the characters. The changing chapter lengths are interesting because it exhibits the change in reality as she goes through the many different parts of her lives.
ReplyDeleteI have read novels like this, but I never knew that they had a specific name. I think the reader might get a more personal connection with characters through this style of storytelling, as people sometimes tell their diaries and journals more than they would ever tell a living person.
ReplyDelete-Carson Dill
I have always had a soft spot in my heart for epistolary novels. Whenever I read them I feel as if it puts me deeper into this world that just regular words on a page. Getting to read something that feels more real in a sense draws readers closer to these fictional characters. Getting to see how these characters talk and not just how they interact from "their" perspective rather than the perspective from the omnipotent voice telling the story.
ReplyDeleteI think the shifts in chapter lengths shows that the moments in life no matter how significant you think they will be, may not have a huge impact on your life. You may think that starting college is your huge milestone but it may end up being the teacher you didn't expect who teaches your freshmen biology class. In the book some of the shortest chapters are lives Nora thought she really wanted.