For the Love of Letters: The Joy of Slow Communication

by John O'Connell

Richly entertaining and beautifully written, here is a passionate case for the value of old-fashioned letter writing in a technology-obsessed world, along with a collection of some of history’s greatest letters.

Remember letters? They were good, weren’t they? The thrill of receiving that battered envelope, all the better for the wait . . . In this richly entertaining book, paper geek John O’Connell puts forward a passionate case for the value of letter-writing in a distracted, technology-obsessed world. Drawing on great examples from the past, he shows that the best letters have much to teach us – Samuel Richardson’s ‘familiar letters’; Wilfred Owen’s outpourings to his mother; the sly observational charms of Jane Austen. And in doing so he reminds us of the kind of letters we would all write if we had the time – the perfect thank-you letter, a truly empathetic condolence letter, and of course the heartfelt declaration of love. Was there a Golden Age of Letters? Why is handwriting so important? Can we ever regain the hallowed slowness of the pre-Twitter era? In answering these questions O’Connell shows how a proper letter is an object to be cherished, its crafting an act of exposure which gives shape and meaning to the chaos of life.

***

‘The nib touches the paper. And instinctively I follow the old address in top right-hand corner; date just beneath it on the left-hand side. My writing looks weird. I hand-write so infrequently these days that I’ve developed a graphic stammer - my brain’s way of registering its impatience and bemusement. What are you doing? Just send an email! I haven’t got all night . . .’

Genres: Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2012

About the author

John O'Connell is a former books editor at Time Out magazine and writes regularly for the Guardian and The Times. He is the co-author of I Told You I Was Ill and The Midlife Manual.

Reviews

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a big proponent of letter writing, so I was intrigued by the subtitle for this book, The Joy of Slow Communication. The author does make a personal case for the importance and beauty of letters, however briefly. Unfortunately, most of the book offers excerpts of correspondence out of context (in categories that include advice, rebuke, news, war, love, and death) which I found more difficult to feel for. If you’re interested in the power and beauty of letters, I’d recommend Letters of Note, Vols.1 and 2 edited by Shaun Usher. Many of the letters in Usher’s books are carefully reproduced and are accompanied by detailed explanations of the contexts in which they were written. Still, I am glad that someone is offering such a heartfelt defense of the handwritten missive in these days of electronica.

[Gabrielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this one; it wasn't as much of a guide as I'd expected it to be, but I did really enjoy all the letters he quoted. There is some beautiful prose in this book!
I could have read it all at once (ironic, considering his comments on slow reading), but his little jabs at Christianity and a few other attempts at being witty popped my reading bubble a bit, and made it hard to keep soaking up what he was writing.
So, after much deliberation, I'm giving it three stars. I might still buy this book one day, but I think I'd much rather collect my own anthologies of people's letters - some inspiration never goes amiss! I wonder if COVID has made letter-writing suddenly much more relevant again?

[Kristy Buzbee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light, simple. Very meandering but a quick fun lil read.

[Tracey- Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've just read this glorious book in under two hours after waking up way too early.
This book was leant to me by a friend as she thought I'd like it and oh how right she was so.
This was the most delightful read , with insight into personal letters from the likes of Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra, Winston Churchill to his wife clementine , letters from Wilfred Owen backed up by his poetry ( always a favourite of mine to read thanks to my college tutor who gave me a love for poetry)
I feel like I've been included in something so personal with the extracts from letters , and some had me close to tears. If you love letter writing or even receiving letters, than you murs read this delightful book by John O'Connell.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

An accidental purchase via my kindle but one I quite enjoyed reading nonetheless. Partly abut the reader and why he's interested in letter writing, but mostly examples from history of prolific, talented or obscure letter writers.

Whilst reading it I've noticed references to letter writing in other areas of my life a lot more keenly - an email from a friend lamenting that she doesn't have time to write real letters any more, sample letters in amongst the display of artefacts at the William Morris Gallery, a TED talk about letters. It's interesting how they're referenced everywhere if you look.

[Wes Sames · Rating 3 out of 5]

O'Connell's treatise on physical letter writing was historically informative and entertaining, but it lacked a facet of the discussion on writing letters: How do hand-written letters change the way we communicate with one-another? What is special about letters and how they interact with our neurology that cultivates "joy" in "slow communication." If you want a general overview of the different archetypes of hand-written letters and a historical survey of particular letter-writers, this quintessentially British social commentary is excellent, but if you are concerned with the more humane questions of letters, it might be better to use this as a launching pad for future study.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this up longing to be reminded of the importance of hand-written correspondence and maybe to be revived in writing letters. Essentially, I was expecting the emotional response I got after reading Alexandra Stoddard’s Gift of a Letter so many years ago. Instead, I reached the halfway point and decided “I’m done.”

The book was more of a history of the letter – and a poor history at that. No chapter dove deep enough into its topic and each provided only small hints of the letters used to try to prove/illustrate his point. If history was indeed the book's purpose, I wish it had delved deeper; then it may have held my interest.

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I liked about this book was that it reminded me of why I love to write letters and why I need to keep doing it. The first few chapters and the final 2 was where I found this to be most evident. The middle chapters contained a lot of examples of different types of letters, written by mostly well known literary and/or 'famous' people. Some examples were better than others. Maybe I'm not well read enough but some of this was slow going. Maybe I should be inspired to buy myself a Mont Blanc and I will just have to write!

[Linda]

Reviewed for Library Journal - a charming look at the history and value of letters. The author, who has written for Time Out and other publications, shares his list of the best letter writers in history and even suggests what makes a letter good. We get a lot of English history (the author is English) and you better be able to keep up. But it's not essential for enjoying this succinct look at letters. This is not a letter writing guide (thank God) but rather a well, love letter to letters.

[Patricia Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful read, full of paeans to the art of letter writing and wonderful historical examples. For someone in the midst of penning (oh all right, typing!) an epistolary novel, it was an excellent reinforcement for the idea. And since I am trying to keep up the letter-writing habit with certain friends, it was also inspirational!

[Lulu · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, interesting meditation on the lost art of letter writing. O'Connell highlights some famous letter writers in chapters focusing on topics such as love letters, epistolary friendships, and war letters. I especially liked the part on grumpy old Thomas Carlyle and of course the bit on doomed poet John Keats.

[Aruna Kumar Gadepalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing letters is always curious to me. From the generation looking forward for the postcards from the near and dear to aerograms when friends stay in far away country, this book made me read the book with nostalgia. The book deals with various aspects including the famous letters. Interesting book.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the concept of this book. Liked the 1st & last chpt and didn't get much out of the bits in between.

[Kevin McCarthy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Might have worked better as an essay. Not enough material/content for a whole book.

[Agatha · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was kind of boring for me.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author's personal musings on writing letters.