Epistolary Style

First of all, I have never read a novel in this style before, and I feel like I'm reading some sort of paper, where I only get the gist of something, but have to read the next "letter" to realize what they say. I feel like I'm reading the newspaper, and I only get a bit of what they are trying to explain. Like the author keeps us guessing what is happening. It sort of reminds me of Boomhaur on King of the Hill, Schnitzel on Chowder, or even Chewbacca on Star Wars, where you don't really know what they are saying, but you have a guess. Often times I find myself rewinding and trying to figure out what they say, and this is what we do a lot with this book. I keep looking back to see if there is anything small that would give me a laugh or explain a lot with the book. It is a style that definitely utilizes reading between the lines. This style is one that I think the author also does very well. I'm no expert at epistolary, but from what I can guess, this seems like the best it gets. Even in epistolary style you can still give out what happens by just right out telling it to you. The author of The Last Days of Summer definitely did a very good job making sure he kept things "secret" and kept you reading until you either have to pry yourself from the book, or you have to finish it. The book really wouldn't be as capturing as it would be if it wasn't written in this style, and I can see myself not enjoying it as much. The best way I can explain it would be like playing a 1st person video game, completing it, and then replaying it again in 3rd person. It just feels a little odd, especially if one particular style fit the game perfectly. It is going to be weird reading other books from now on, because I just got used to the style Steve Kluger uses. Most other books now won't seem to have quite that much of a "glow" to them.
Steve Kluger also does a good job of not just using the same types of letters between characters, but notes, newspaper articles, ticket stubs, and more. This variety is pretty key to have when writing in the epistolary style, because eventually it would get old. He definitely utilizes this style and pushes it to the limits. I absolutely liked it when he even used Joey's report cards to in a way explain Joey's character, and I enjoyed reading the teacher's comments as the guardian’s comments. It seems a lot more flowing than just saying, "Joey is a smart boy but has a sort of twisted sense of humor."
Overall, I think that this style is better than the traditional 1st or 3rd person, but it doesn't fit every book. "Moby Dick" or "The Wizard of Oz" just wouldn't fit in this style, like how the fourth Indiana Jones movie doesn't fit the trilogy at all. This story just somehow blends really well with the story, and does an excellent job creating a flow one letter to the next. I am eager to hear how the story ends, and I really hope to find more books that are written like this.