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!)
Laurie King uses that same conceit for her Mary Russell series.
Didn't need to be said twice.
Do you guys remember what the upperlimit of books you could catalog with a free Library Thing Account?
(I mean to upgrade, but I keep forgetting!)