I’m interested in fiction that is written in the form of a diary and actually reads like a diary. I LOVE Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, it’s one of my favorite books, but it doesn’t feel like a diary to me at all. It reads like a regular book in first person with dates attached to give you a sense of when the narrative is happening. That’s my experience with most fictional diaries and journals.
Obviously diaries can vary as much as any form of writing, but for example I don’t think most people would attempt to accurately record an entire dialogue between them and another person in a diary. They’re more likely to summarize a conversation adding their perspective and maybe some specific quotes they remember or paraphrase. I bet it’s difficult for a writer to forgo “primary source”-like info for the audience like dialogue and scene setting that, even with an unreliable narrator, we can usually take at some level of face value. I’m not surprised this format done accurately is rare since the narrative is controlled entirely by the diarist.
I’m not looking for anything middle grade or YA. Nothing but love to Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dear Dumb Diary, they definitely fit the bill but I’m looking for stories for adults, preferably adult protagonists.
Thanks in advance if you can think of one!
by justhereforbaking