Epistolary Novels To Start Reading

Twenty-one-year-olds Isa Epley and Gala Novak have taken New York City by storm for the summer. Their evenings are filled with glamorous parties, but this is no easy feat. Every night spent partying has to be paid for somehow — whether it’s by flirting their way into free dinner and drinks or working at a market stall in the morning selling clothes. Every feverish night and stressful morning is meticulously documented by Isa in her diary. But as this lifestyle becomes harder to keep up with — especially with rent due — Isa and Gala’s friendship might not survive another bill, another day job, or another diary entry.

Sixteen-year-old Nao is ready to end it all — but not before documenting the life of the most interesting person she knows — her grandmother. Over 100 years old and a Buddhist nun, Nao’s grandmother has left an impression worth documenting in a notebook. Tucked away in a Hello Kitty lunchbox, Nao sends this notebook across the Pacific to reach anyone who will read it. When novelist Ruth discovers it washed ashore on a remote island, she finds herself pulled into the story. Switching between the notebook and Ruth’s own account as she reads it, discover the pain Nao has experienced in her short life and the reflections Ruth has on her own past — and future — because of her.

Mark Watney is an astronaut, botanist, and mechanical engineer — he’s also stuck on Mars. After a dust storm forces Mark to abort the mission, he’s knocked unconscious by a heavy piece of antenna. Thinking he’s dead, the crew leaves him behind — but a day later Mark awakens. Hoping to remain alive until the next mission to Mars — several years away — Mark finds ways to ration his food and recycle the air and water he needs to survive until then. In his logbook, Mark chronicles his fight to stay alive and the desperate hope he has that someone on Earth will come to his rescue.

Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder are more than just coworkers, they’re also good friends. So, despite being told that their work emails are monitored, they think it’s unlikely that there’s someone who sits there reading every word. But there is. Lincoln O’Neill didn’t think that being an internet security officer would include encroaching on people’s personal emails, but here he is reading Beth and Jennifer’s day-to-day banter and detailed accounts of their personal lives. Despite being instructed to turn this in, Lincoln can’t help but be intrigued by their stories. But as the messages reveal more about the women, Lincoln realizes he’s in love with one of them — but how can he ask out a woman he knows everything about, and who doesn’t know him at all?

When longtime food columnist Imogen Fortier receives a fan letter from new food writer Joan Bergstrom, she doesn’t expect to embark on a journey of friendship across 1960s America. With Imogen writing from Camaro Island and Joan penning her letters from Los Angeles, the two transcend physical barriers and age to foster an unbreakable connection — even from miles away. What begins as a way to discuss recipes and food from other cultures turns into letters tracking their joys and difficulties like illnesses, pregnancy, and socially unaccepted love. Imogen and Joan’s shared affinity for food will leave your mouth watering — but their devotion and support of each other will leave your eyes teary.

In London, 1905, the Stephen siblings have just lost their father. Leaving their childhood home to move to a house in Bloomsbury means that they can all work on moving on. There, the four siblings bring in a crowd of other like-minded and artistic youths. Most distinguished amongst them is Virginia Stephen the writer. But while Virginia’s writing flourishes — and her brothers Thoby and Adrian become famous in their own right — her sister Vanessa is unable to sell a single painting. In this fictional account of diary entries and letters, watch the tale unfold of Virginia Woolf’s beginning, her family, and their encounters with loss, love, and obsession.

In a series of recommendation letters, a disgruntled English professor — at the appropriately-called Payne University — writes his true thoughts and feelings not only about the students he recommends but also about himself. Critiques about the university sneak into many of his letters — as does inappropriate and irrelevant information about himself. Whether he’s revealing how often he sees his ex-wife or that he’s only known a candidate for 11 minutes — and that 10 of which he spent trying and failing to explain that only his former students get letters of recommendation — Professor Fitger’s letters may seem unorthodox, but there’s no one else who would vouch for his students harder.

Nisha and her brother Emile didn’t realize that India’s new independence from British rule would have such a negative effect on their future. After being divided into Pakistan and India and Hindus and Muslims, Emile and Nisha — who are both — are bullied. But when the violence against them and their family escalates, their father decides that they can no longer stay in Pakistan. But how can Nisha leave the only country she’s ever known — even if it doesn’t feel like she belongs? Told as letters to her dead mother, Nisha must put together the pieces of her identity to discover who she wants to be, and how to get there.

Written in interview style, this account from former Daisy Jones & the Six band members, family, and managers follows how the beloved 1970s band skyrocketed to fame—and how they just as quickly fell apart. From affairs between lead singers, animosity between bandmates, and the drugs that exacerbated every bad decision, each character has a chance to speak. Whether their accounts differ from each other’s or if they confirm suspicions that have been around for decades, the members and affiliates of Daisy Jones & the Six have a lot to answer for. And they’re finally ready to tell their stories — even if it means confronting their mistakes.