Getting Hooked on the Charm of Epistolary Novels
I have finished reading "The Art of Love Letters".
I find myself wanting to sit at my desk and write a letter.
No, to be precise, I want to experience a little bit of that frustration and comedy of "writing, tearing it up, and worrying again" just like Ichiro Morita.
The Art of Love Letters
By Tomihiko Morimi
Ichiro Morita is a graduate student sent far away from Kyoto to a research facility in Noto.
He writes letters incessantly to his friends in Kyoto, his family, a boy he tutors, and even the author Tomihiko Morimi, calling it "letter-writing training," but he cannot write to the person he truly wants to convey his feelings to—.
An epistolary novel packed with Morimi-esque style, where the pure heart of a clumsy guy explodes.
This long-beloved masterpiece is now available in a new edition, including a "New Edition Afterword: To the Readers"!
By Tomihiko Morimi
From Amazon
Getting Hooked on the Charm of Epistolary Novels
This story is an epistolary novel in which Ichiro Morita, a graduate student sent from Kyoto to a research facility in Noto, writes letters incessantly to his friends in Kyoto, his family, a boy he tutors, and even the author Tomihiko Morimi himself.
Moreover, the letters are one-way.
There are no replies, and the world expands solely through Morita's perspective.
This is truly interesting.
This is because the way he speaks changes completely depending on the recipient, even for the same event, allowing you to fully enjoy Morita's humanity, his clumsiness, and his sometimes ironic humor.
The pure heart of a clumsy guy explodes!
Morita writes letters incessantly, calling it "letter-writing training," but he just cannot send a letter to Ibuki-san, the person he truly wants to convey his feelings to.
He cannot be honest only with the person he likes, repeatedly revising and spinning his wheels, and in the end, he cannot send it—this "clumsy guy" behavior is so realistic that I couldn't stop grinning while reading.
It is a perfect blend of the lighthearted tone unique to Morimi's works and the somewhat sorrowful pain of youth.
Laughing, feeling sad, and finally feeling warm
Tomihiko Morimi's style is in full swing, with small jokes and parodies scattered throughout.
However, it is not just funny.
As the story progresses, Morita's struggle over "what he really wants to convey" makes your heart ache even while you laugh.
In the final chapter, when he finally writes a long letter to Ibuki-san, the warmth and poignancy that only the analog medium of a letter possesses gently spread through the reader's heart.
Letters are wonderful after all
As it says in the story, "Letters are for writing things you don't really need to write," Morita's letters are sometimes just full of idle talk.
But I realize that it is precisely that "waste" that bridges the distance between people and allows hearts to connect.
After reading it, I want to write a letter to someone too.
It is a book that reminds me once again of the charm of letters—choosing words, revising, and writing while worrying—which you cannot experience with email or social media.
Summary: A youth epistolary novel with the full Morimi world
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A youth novel where Tomihiko Morimi's characteristic lighthearted and elegant style and the protagonist's pure heart explode
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The sense of presence unique to an epistolary format and the way the tone changes depending on the recipient are fun
After reading, it leaves a warm feeling and a slightly sad lingering impression
"The Art of Love Letters" is, in my opinion, the best "love story" packed with the clumsiness of being in love, the warmth of the analog medium of letters, and Tomihiko Morimi's humor and sorrow.
Kindle Edition
Audible Edition
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Self-introduction
I've started to like the note❤️feature. More
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