Reader's Ink discussion
When Washington Was in Vogue
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Question 4: Style and Format
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It might be a little heavy on description to me. Sometimes I'd find myself saying, come on, what are you trying to say. I do trust Davy as a narrator. He seems genuine to me, and we hear things as he sees them.
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The letter format lent itself to the novel's original publication mode--a periodical. Yeah, it worked for a self-contained novel, but boy, there were times when I just wanted Davy to get to the freaking point. Too much description, in my view.
I felt so-so on the use of letters. I think it can work, and I have re-read some of my Sent emails that perfectly (and hilariously, in my opinion) capture various time periods of my life. Especially when writing to a BFF, things can be said that wouldn't fit into a natural narration. But, I also think it is very heavy on description. I doubt Bob cares about the layout of the room, for example. I don't know how it would be otherwise communicated to the reader, but I don't think it's necessary for the story.
I trust Davy as a narrator as well.
Julie wrote: "I felt so-so on the use of letters. I think it can work, and I have re-read some of my Sent emails that perfectly (and hilariously, in my opinion) capture various time periods of my life. Especia..."Julie wrote: "I felt so-so on the use of letters. I think it can work, and I have re-read some of my Sent emails that perfectly (and hilariously, in my opinion) capture various time periods of my life. Especia..."
Lauren wrote: "I'm throwing out lots of questions as I want to keep this thread open to any interpretation people desire. Answer any (or none) of the below.
Unless I'm mistaken, this is our book club's first epi..."
Julie wrote: "I felt so-so on the use of letters. I think it can work, and I have re-read some of my Sent emails that perfectly (and hilariously, in my opinion) capture various time periods of my life. Especia..."
Julie wrote: "I felt so-so on the use of letters. I think it can work, and I have re-read some of my Sent emails that perfectly (and hilariously, in my opinion) capture various time periods of my life. Especia..."
Julie wrote: "I felt so-so on the use of letters. I think it can work, and I have re-read some of my Sent emails that perfectly (and hilariously, in my opinion) capture various time periods of my life. Especia..."
Julie wrote: "I felt so-so on the use of letters. I think it can work, and I have re-read some of my Sent emails that perfectly (and hilariously, in my opinion) capture various time periods of my life. Especia..."
Lauren wrote: "I'm throwing out lots of questions as I want to keep this thread open to any interpretation people desire. Answer any (or none) of the below.
Unless I'm mistaken, this is our book club's first epi..."
I LIKE THE LETTER FORMAT, AND I LIKE THE CHARACTER OF DAVY. IF HE WASN'T ARTICULATE, I'D SWEAR HE WAS A GOSSIPY GIRL IN HIGH SCHOOL BACK IN THE TIME BEFORE TEXTING. NOW I CAN SEE HIM IN THE TIME OF JANE AUSTEN AS THE LETTERS ARE AS VERBOSE AND DETAILED AS THEY ARE SUBJECTIVELY "DAVY". I REGRET THAT THERE WERE NO RESPONSES FROM BOB. THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN INTERESTING.
Mod
Another observation was I thought the letters were way too long. I realize that is an era that mail was the primary form of communication, but man my hand hurts thinking about it, carpal tunnel - here we come.
Carol: I adored Guernsey Literary! But it's so very different in that it used multiple characters and was written as a historical rather than a contemporary novel. We could probably have a whole discussion comparing and contrasting these two novels and their very different approaches to the same format.Cheryl: I once had a (male) professor in college comment that he and his wife had been debating for the entirety of their marriage (20+ years) whether men or women were bigger gossips. The semester I took his class, he had finally admitted defeat: men were bigger gossips, but they were much more subtle in how they gossiped so that it wouldn't seem like "gossip." If his wife had known about this novel earlier in their marriage, she probably could have "won" years earlier ...
One thought I had about halfway through the book: Are Bob's letters as lengthy or is he the "fewest words possible" type?
HOW COULD HE GET A WORD IN EDGEWAY? AND THE LETTERS WERE RATHER LENGTHY...
Ashley: For the life of me, I can't remember. I remember the conversation in remarkable detail but I draw a complete blank on the person. I was thinking about it last night and now I'm not even convinced it was during Oxy and might have been during law school. See, this is a downside of too many years in higher education. It all runs together. Or I'm getting old and my memory is going. Take your pick.
Unless I'm mistaken, this is our book club's first epistolary novel. Did people enjoy the letters? Did this style work for the plot? Did you like the narrator's voice?
And how about all of the description? Too much, too little, or just right?
One things I've always found interesting about the epistolary format (or, indeed, any first-person point of view) is that the reader is left to trust that the narrator is being truthful. Did you trust Davy as a narrator? Did you believe his version of events?