2025 Book Review #54:The Correspondent

 

My sister said this was one of the very best books she read all of 2025. She is also an avid book reader like I am.  The author is new to both of us, so when she asked me if I wanted to borrow the book, I said sure.  I'm glad I read it as it's a different genre from what I usually choose at the library. 

STORY SUMMARY

It is June 2012 and Sybil Van Antwerp sits down to write her letters.  She has been a letter writer throughout her entire life.  It helps her to make sense of her world..and her place in it. She does this most mornings, usually around 10:30, with her cup of tea, at her desk.  She writes to her brother Felix, her best friend Rosalie, to authors Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry (to tell them  what she thinks of their latest books as she is also an avid reader).  She also writes to the president of the university who won't let her audit a course she really wants to take and she writes to a person who never receives her letters because she never sends them. 

Sybil is also a mother (to Fiona and Bruce, both of whom are married; Bruce has 2 children and Fiona is trying to conceive and having issues), a grandmother, divorcee, a former lawyer who is deemed "distinguished".  She has lived a full life and she expects it to go on as normal. 

But all of a sudden, some letters from someone in the past force her to look at of the most painful periods in her life; she soon realizes that thel etter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she can't move forward until she can offer forgiveness to someone. 

MY THOUGHTS

This was definitely the most interesting book I've read in a long time. It's written in letter form. The entire book is centered around email exchanges and letters written by hand between Sybil and the people in her life. It's quite  fascinating how hte author did this. I also found it very fascinating that the book ends in 2022 yet we skip over portions of 2020/2021 where the Pandemic of Covid19 enters our world. The author sets up the letters to avoid any  communication  during that time. I found that perplexing yet interesting.  I wonder why the author did that. 

The character develop is well done.  Each character has a distinct personality of their own.  

The book is basically about finding solace in literature and in our connections with people..some that we may never meet in person! 

It shows the differences of the innocence of youth vs the wisdom of old age; it also shows the acts of kindness and the mistakes we make during a lifetime. 

The letters Sybil writes might seem insignificant yet they leave a powerful punch. 

I guessed correctly to whom Sybil was writing to yet the letters were never sent.  There is one character in which she does this. 

The ending gave me a mixed feeling of loss and sadness yet intrigue. 

I highly recommend this book. It's quite different from the historical fiction and mystery thrillers or family sagas I often seek out. 

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 14 and older. 

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 9.