by Carlene Bauer
When I was young, I was dedicated to letter writing. I fantasized that when I was a famous poet, my letters would get published after my death. Oh well. This book made my literary heart giddy. There's something about a story told through letters. Add to that a passionate romance, a touch of madness,...
Epistolary novels are a hard thing to pull off well, I think. The author has to create unique voices for two or more characters so that the letters don’t all sound the same, and they have to be able to find a way to explain and describe events that happen “off-screen” in such a way that it doesn’t f...
A novel, in letter form, that follows the life of two fictitious writers (inspired by the lives of Flannery O’Connor and Robert Lowell), their love affair with each other and with God. The main love story was very engaging. Bernard, a poet and Frances an aspiring writer, meet at an artists colony. ...
My rating: 2.5 of 5 starsA copy of Frances and Bernard was provided to me by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Netgalley for review purposes.An epistolary novel, or a novel written solely in personal letters mainly between main characters Frances and Bernard. The novel is said to of been influenced by the l...
Writing a novel inspired by American writers with rather well known histories is a risky leap that I fully applaud Carlene Bauer taking in Frances and Bernard. However, I think it is wise that she has been making it clear in interviews that Frances and Bernard are not meant to represent Flannery O'C...
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