Goodreads Blurb

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.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

It is a brilliant novel of life and the unexpected moments that will stay with you until you’re gone. This incredible novel will tell you the life story of Sybil Van Antwerp through the letters she writes and the correspondence she receives. Virginia Evans is a masterful storyteller who wrote a story that can place any one of us in these heartbreaking moments of life. This story has some heartbreaking moments that Sybil carries around, as if the weight of the world is on her shoulders. In her daily letters, she writes to someone that the reader doesn’t quite know yet who they are, and these letters are not sent to anyone in particular. They give her a sense of connection to this person and find peace in telling this person her most intense feelings and thoughts. I connected a lot with Sybil. As someone who has a brother whose name closely resembles her son’s and her issues with her vision, I had some procedures done on my eye last year. She was a strong woman who fought for what’s right, until a terrible moment in time, she made a terrible decision that would haunt her for the rest of her life. Guilt for what happened to her son and a decision she makes at work will lead her in search of forgiveness. I was heartbroken in the end. She finally found some peace, but it was time to be reunited with her beloved Gilbert.