It's a very common literary technique. In fact, the earliest novels were often epistolatory novels which operated under that conceit - that you'd stumbled across a stash of letters in your grandmother's attic.

Dracula! All letters and journal entries.

Gene Wolf also uses this trope in his "New Sun" series. It's supposedly reconstructed and translated from manuscripts from the far future brought back to the....slightly nearer future. Somehow.

Yeah, all of Wolfe's "___ of the ____ Sun" books have some kind of narrative frame like that. And they all wrap around and connect to each other eventually in what is I'm sure a really impressive way if only I could follow it.

I love the guy, but those books are dense.

I love the guy, but those books are dense.

True dat.

It's a very common literary technique. In fact, the earliest novels were often epistolatory novels which operated under that conceit - that you'd stumbled across a stash of letters in your grandmother's attic.

Far too common nowadays I'd say. I'm really tired of it. Just tell a story already.

The only way that device could be better is if the filmmaker made the reading of the letters a montage to "Halleluiah".

I can't believe no one's yet mentioned the Griffin & Sabine books.

I love how To Say Nothing of the Dog starts off with everybody in the bombed out cathedral and Ned keeps referring to "Mr. Peabody" as a member of their crew and it isn't until the end of the chapter that it becomes clear that Mr. Peabody is a dog.

How could anybody look at the name "Mr. Peabody" in a book featuring time travel and not realize that he's a dog ?

I can't believe no one's yet mentioned the Griffin & Sabine books

And Dictionary of the Khazars (which Sox and I were recently talking about).

And Borges. Who apparently is one of Karl Rove's favorite authors (hah!)

And Dictionary of the Khazars

LOVE!