I have really been letting Hyped books take over my TBR this year. I honestly had a plan to not let Booksta influence me this time around, yet I have fallen prey once again. I remember seeing this on the GoodReads Choice Awards last year and not really being interested at the time, but as time went on, more and more people ended up reading this book and loved it, so I knew it was only a matter of time till I finally caved.
“knowing you has been like coming in from the cold, lonely road to find a warm fire and a table laid,”
Virginia Evans, The Correspondent
About The Book
Author: Virginia Evans
Publisher: Crown Publishing
Published Date: April 29th, 2025
Page Count: 285 Pages
Main Genre: Fiction
GoodReads Rating: 4.42
Format: Audio
“Grief shared, I think, can produce two outcomes. Either you bind yourselves together and hold on for dear life, or you let go and up goes a wall too high to be crossed.”
Virginia Evans, The Correspondent
Synopsis
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.
Synopsis From GoodReads
Rating
Review
I originally started this book on my KOBO, which ended up being a mistake. I just couldn’t get into the writing style. I normally don’t mind mixed media in books, but when the book is all mixed media, I found myself just struggling to keep turning the page. As soon as I picked up the audiobook I was flying through the text. I loved the narration as it added much-needed inflection to the emails and letters.
I was pleasantly surprised at how much of Sybil’s life we actually obtained through letters and emails. I was really worried we would miss a lot of important details, but Sybil really did use writing as the only way to communicate anything regarding her life, which to me sounds quite exhausting. My hand cramps just writing a single journal entry, so this really made me question my handwriting capabilities.
At times the writing did feel a bit repetitive, but when you look at the big picture, it all makes sense. Sybil is writing to all of her family, friends, acquaintances, and pretty much anyone she can find an address for, so of course she is going to repeat herself. The author also kept this repetitiveness fresh by adding small morsels of new information to each new letter sent.
This girl has not one, but two men falling head over heels for her throughout the years this story spans. She rarely leaves her house, so this really surprised me. I really enjoyed seeing her love stories unfold even though she didn’t seem too amused herself.
While we got to explore the many relationships Sybil has, my favorite was with the young high school boy. She really became a grandmother figure to him. Her letters and, at some point, also her home became a refuge for this young boy as life continued to throw curveballs at him. Seeing Sybil drop her usual coldness to become a safe place for him was a much-needed character development. I was truly invested in this boy’s life and was craving a new correspondence from him to pop up with every new letter we received. I don’t think there was another relationship that I craved more information about sadly.
Sybil’s life was anything but boring. While she had a lot of interesting things happen to her in life, the one that really stood out to me was the tragic story of her losing her son. This was a plot line that was harrowing to watch unfold, but was integral to how Sybil became the woman she is today. The ending of this book really closed this plot line up nicely, and I wouldn’t have changed a thing.
“I know you know this, but I want to repeat that when someone(s) treats you poorly, it is a reflection of him or herself and the misery within the heart of them. It doesn’t help a bit to hear that when you’re young, but later it will.”
Virginia Evans, The Correspondent
QOTD: Do you like Mixed Media in books?
