My B*tches read The Correspondent by Virginia Evans for our August selection. I knew this book was well loved and received excellent reviews, but I was hesitant. An entire book of letters? I didn’t think I’d be able to get into it. Happily, I was wrong. By the third letter, I was hooked. Here’s a synopsis:
“Imagine, the letters one has sent out into the world, the letters received back in turn, are like the pieces of a magnificent puzzle. . . . Isn’t there something wonderful in that, to think that a story of one’s life is preserved in some way, that this very letter may one day mean something, even if it is a very small thing, to someone?”
Filled with knowledge that only comes from a life fully lived, The Correspondent is a gem of a novel about the power of finding solace in literature and connection with people we might never meet in person. It is about the hubris of youth and the wisdom of old age, and the mistakes and acts of kindness that occur during a lifetime.
Sybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.
Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has—a mother, grandmother, wife, divorcee, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a very full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes that the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.
Sybil Van Antwerp’s life of letters might be “a very small thing,” but she also might be one of the most memorable characters you will ever read.
The Correspondent
My fellow B*tches and I have thoughts on Sybil. In many ways, she’s a cantankerous lady. Yet I rooted for her the entire time. My favorite characters are her brother and her neighbor…truly a wonderful cast. Don’t let the concept of only letters scare you off from this novel; it’s fabulous. My friends who listened on Audible also loved it. I’ve yet to hop on that train, but maybe I should. Purchase here: https://amzn.to/4gh1mE8
The Correspondnent is an excellent book club pick.
