Reddit mentions: The best epistolary fiction books

Having read some of the comments below here are some TV and book suggestions if you're interested in exploring some of Mr. Fry's work.

TV

A Bit of Fry and Laurie a sketch comedy show he did with his friend Hugh Laurie (Dr. House on TV's House. Yes, he's English.)

Jeeves and Wooster Television adaptations of P.G. Wodehouse books. (Wodehouse is definitely worth reading.)

Kingdom A typical quaint village TV show that's not particularly exceptional but is entertaining (if you like British TV).

Stephen Fry in America A really great series in which Mr. Fry drives through the United States in a London style cab meeting locals and making observations.

Also worth seeing: Last Chance To See and Black Adder.

BOOKS

The Liar I recommend this if you like clever writing and unusual stories but I read it well over 10 years ago and can't sum up the plot.

Hippopotamus An odd and humorous tale of a not exactly friendly middle aged man who is asked by an old friend to investigate some unusual goings on at a country estate.

Revenge A clever retelling of a classic story. (I won't name the classic as I wasn't aware it was a retelling until a ways into the book I realized the plot was similar to the classic. So, if you're interested in making your own discovery skip the jacket notes and site reviews.)

Moab Is My Washpot The first of Mr. Fry's autobiographies, this one covers his childhood and teen years. He's completely honest about growing up gay and also about the less than ideal fellow he was.

The Fry Chronicles Mr. Fry's second autobiography which covers his college years and the beginning of his professional career.

The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within A surprisingly interesting and informative book about writing poetry.

INTERNET

The New Adventures of Mr. Stephen Fry Mr. Fry's website.

Stephen Fry on Twitter

Stephen Fry on Tumblr

And for something really interesting and easy to access, watch (or listen to) a video free-form talk he did for a magazine or website. He makes some great observations and points about modern times, life in general, and how to be a happy and decent person.

check out Wendal his cat and the progress of man

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendal,_His_Cat,_and_the_Progress_of_Man

you can find it used or new under 10 bucks. great read as a nice "little" book.

I'm also a fan of Johnathan Livingston Seagull - same kind of format, similar kind of mystical tale:
http://www.amazon.com/Jonathan-Livingston-Seagull-Richard-Bach/dp/0743278909/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301457290&sr=1-1

and for a great one to share with a loved one -- Nick Bantock's Griffin and Sabine series is outstanding:

http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Sabine-Correspondence-Nick-Bantock/dp/0877017883/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301457347&sr=1-1

I was going to suggest the Broken Empire series by Mark Lawrence, but it looks like 2 people already beat me to that. I'll just add that I loved that series. The hero is like Machiavelli's wet dream.

Mark Lawrence's new series -- The Red Queen's War -- also features a hero that's not very heroic.

Fight Club, by Chuck Pahlaniuk also fits. But really, most of Pahlaniuk's work features protagonists so amoral that they're practically nihilistic: Choke, Survivor, Rant: the Oral Biography of Buster Casey, and the (in my opinion) under-rated Lullaby.

I'm also tempted to suggest Home Land, by Sam Lipsyte. But its hero is probably more cynical than amoral. It's about a guy whose high school nickname was Teabag (for probably obvious reasons). His high school reunion is coming up, and he's sending letters to the alumni newsletter. According to his updates -- which for some reason aren't getting published in the newsletter along with everyone's anniversary and birth announcements and stuff -- he's not doing well. The book is hilarious. But it also ends with some form of redemption, so it might not be what you're looking for.

Edit -- I should have also suggested I, Lucifer, by Glen Duncan. I mean, the protagonist is the Devil. He's not really completely amoral, but I think it fits, since he's telling his side of the story.

Since I adore Stephen Fry, I'd love [this] (http://www.amazon.com/Hippopotamus-Stephen-Fry/dp/1569470545/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=38RR1FSXRXUC7&coliid=I4EKZ76DS17OZ0) or [this] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Ode-Less-Travelled-Unlocking/dp/1592403115/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=38RR1FSXRXUC7&coliid=I1FOCNKX8TRHR2). Thanks!

The Griffin & Sabine Trilogy is something fun I did once. It's a book of correspodence (love letters) between two people, but it's designed as postcards and actual letters. It's neat for each of you get a copy and read the character's letters to each other. Yes, I know it's cheesy, but hey.

I would love to see this expanded upon, and hand written in the style contemporary to the era evoked in these pieces, a la Griffin & Sabine

There is a novel about being an Indian personal driver, it's called The White Tiger and is a great read.

Not exactly what you described, but you might check out [It Happened in Boston?] (https://www.amazon.com/Happened-Boston-Russell-H-Greenan/dp/1481515241) - or, for an intriguing paranormal romance between two artists who have never met - [Griffin and Sabine] (https://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Sabine-25th-Anniversary-Limited/dp/145215595X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1500591123&sr=1-1&keywords=griffin+sabine)

I'd highly recommend "Girls of Riyadh"--its relatively recent and about four modern friends who are struggling to balance love and happiness with family pressure. It was banned in Saudi Arabia.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000T9BRTK/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

It's framed as a series of emails & texts, so if you don't like epistolary novels, you probably won't like it.

Anthony Burgess' TREMOR OF INTENT is perfect for you.

Also, Charles McCarry's THE MIERNIK DOSSIER

I lack cool neat stuff under $25 :( I mostly have useful boring stuff.

The coolest is this book for $4 shipped (used).

Edit: I have a few cool things on my Etsy WL! I really want the metal ivy stamp which is only about $6 shipped, or the other metal stamp which is around the same or cheaper.

This feed is a rip form the brilliant book, Letters to Wendy's

Bats of the Republic. It is a beautiful book, amazing design. I wasn't that fond of the story, but the book design was spectacular.

For slower-paced slice of life fantasy, you could try Christine Hinwood's The Returning. It focuses on interpersonal relationships in a secondary-world village in the aftermath of war.

For men who've written "fantasy of manners," there's Galen Beckett's The Magicians and Mrs. Quent, which is pretty much fantasy Jane Austen. (Galen Beckett is a pseudonym for Mark Anthony). Or if you don't mind a co-authored book, Steven Brust co-wrote epistolary novel Freedom and Necessity with Emma Bull.

Lionel Shriver's We Need To Talk About Kevin is epistolary. There is also a large list on Wikipedia.

In the Country of Last Things

Into the Wild

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.

Maybe Gilead?

"We need to talk about Kevin" by Lionel Shriver

Most recently, "Dear Committee Members".

Have you read this or this?

We should team up on an extremely alliterative erotic epic of epistolary erotica for the literary fiction/erotica crossover market, perhaps a book of letter a la http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Sabine-An-Extraordinary-Correspondence/dp/0877017883

Griffin and Sabine by Nick Bantock

http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Sabine-An-Extraordinary-Correspondence/dp/0877017883/ref=pd_sim_b_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=0V06KWHJ1WYDZWYS94QD

And of course the others in this series and his stuff using the same format.

The White Tiger (soooo good!!!)

I think Griffin & Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence may be along the lines of what you are looking for?

The Sorcerer's House by Gene Wolfe

From Amazon:

In a contemporary town in the American Midwest where he has no connections, an educated man recently released from prison is staying in a motel. He writes letters to his brother and to others, including a friend still in jail. When he meets a real estate agent who tells him he is the heir to a huge old house, long empty, he moves in, though he is too broke to even buy furniture, and is immediately confronted by supernatural and fantastic creatures and events.

His life is utterly transformed and we read on, because we must know more. We revise our opinions of him, and of others, with each letter. We learn things about magic, and another world, and about the sorcerer Mr. Black, who originally inhabited the house. And then perhaps we read it again.

First, you start her off with the obvious connection, White Tiger, then you delve a little deeper with The God of Small Things, then a triple KO punch of Sleeping in Flame, Bel Canto, and The Blind Assassin.

This is kind of borderline (both re: genre and the exact nature of the narrator), but I'd put WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN into the mix. It's an epistolary novel and it gave me such a sense of dread throughout. Not to mention afterwards.

This book is for you my dear.

This Is How You Lose the Time War

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1534431004/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_wVnoDbVTGGQ48

I can send you the file if interested. ❤️

Griffin and Sabine, perhaps? It's now up to four books but you need to read them in order:
Griffin and Sabine, 25th Anniversary Limited Edition: An Extraordinary Correspondence https://www.amazon.com/dp/145215595X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_cBUxCb232H1C8

Here are some letters to her:

https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Wendys-Joe-Wenderoth/dp/0970367201

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Seriously, the book is like talking to a completely insane person but less repetitive.

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S. By J.J. Abrams. A mysterious book within a book with margin notes and loose sheets tucked between the pages. It seems to be a non frightening cross between House of Leaves and Griffin and Sabine.