BOOK REVIEW Book Review
DEAR DIARY….. Books in diary format have been a successful form of
Century classic told through letters, diary entries, telegrams and newspaper clippings etc. more recently, the blockbusting series featuring Adrian mole and Bridget Jones have both reaped success using the dramatic, comic and heartfelt tones of the simple diary. The true term for this genre is in fact epistolary fiction i.e.
literature for centuries. Samuel Pepys’ diary from the 17th Century still entertains today and Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a 19th
stories told via letters, diaries and journals etc. The format has the ability to chronicle a time, evoking characters and atmosphere whilst conjuring up vivid vignettes with a sense of nostalgia. The genre - when either fact or fiction - has an undeniable element of honesty which seems to enhance its enduring and endearing quality. One has only to think of The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne
Frank – one of the most enduring documents of the 20th century which even after translation captures poignantly how a war affects one girl and her family. In this month’s review I have 2 recommendations from this genre - one factual and one fictional – both of which are modern examples of this popular format. love, nina: despatches from Family life by Nina
Stibbe (Penguin, £8.99). This is a collection of letters written by the author to her sister in the 80s. Nina was working as a nanny (despite her lack of domestic skills) for a North London literati family, who are full of quirks, foibles and interesting friends! The book caught my attention when it was first published and since then it has kept popping up in recommendations from friends and across the press. It’s now out in paperback and with its nostalgic view of my formative years in the 80s – “a time of polytechnics, bad haircuts, Timotei shampoo and Bob’s Full House on the telly” – it was hard for me to resist.
‘Funny’ ‘sharp’ and ‘heartwarming’
are the words in all the reviews with a careful blend of Mary Poppins and Adrian mole. Where d’you go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple (Phoenix, £7.99) was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2013 and a popular read in our book club recently. The straightforward theme of the mother/daughter relationship is mixed with the somewhat eccentric characters of the misunderstood mother, Bernadette and her quirky daughter, Bee. It’s an original and satirical comedy set amongst the silicon valley of Seattle and the ice of Antarctica, with the
by Emma Jones
story told through a number of different perspectives including diary entries, school report cards, emails and even FBI reports. It is sharp, visual, believable, full of humour and compulsively
readable and quite simply an “invigorating, hilarious, addictive ride of a novel” says Maggie O’Farrell. And if you’re wanting more why not try my other top 3 epistolary books: guernsey literary &
Potato Peel Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer (Bloomsbury, £7.99) – historical novel about the Nazi occupation of Jersey. “charming, touching and funny.” dear lupin – letters to
a Wayward Son by Charles Mortimer (Constable, £7.99)– nostalgic, witty and honest 25 year correspondence between father and son.
The Mitfords: letters
between Six Sisters edited by Charlotte Mosley (Harper Collins £12.99) - carefree, revelatory and intimate letters between the 6 legendary mitford sisters. ‘A glorious portrait of a six-way, life-enhancing, lifelong conversation.’ Sunday Times And a final thought - with the growth of social media and the apparent lost art of letter writing what can we expect in this genre of literature in the future?
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