Genre: Adult Fiction/Audiobook
Pub. Date: April 29, 2025
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Source: Personal Copy
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads says, "Throughout her life Sybil Van Antwerp has 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, divorcée, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a 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 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 has lived a carefully constructed life at first glance. She worked in law for years and lived a fulfilling life with her kids, although she is divorced. However, she gardens, possesses wonderful manners, and, more importantly, has spent her life writing meaningful handwritten letters to friends, work associates, family, and many others. The Correspondent is an epistolary novel, and as readers are privy to her letters, we learn more about Sybil, her relationships, and what makes her tick. The more we know about her, the more readers recognize that her life wasn't as perfect as it may look at first glance, as she was adopted, dealt with a lot of grief and heartbreak, and to this day, has made decisions that haunt her. Virginia Evans's debut novel, The Correspondent, is a fantastic audiobook and certainly one of the best of the year; this book is smart, moving, and surprisingly immersive.
Sybil writes letters to communicate with family and friends, but also to process things herself. Readers are privy to her letters to and from her close friends, her brother, her sister-in-law, and even her literary heroes, such as Larry McMurtry. As mentioned, through these letters, readers learn more about Sybil's past as well as the way she operates. She can be a bit brash, stubborn, and point-blank, but half the time she makes very astute observations. Her life is forever changed when she receives a gift to trace her DNA origins and connect with her possible relatives. This is huge, as she is adopted and has always questioned her parentage, as all she was left with was a letter that her adopted mother shared with her. There's also a person that Sybil is writing to that she never sends the letters to, and slowly, readers piece together this part of the puzzle.
An epistolary novel is hard to pull off, especially one that is absorbing; these days, we don't have time for lengthy letters. It almost seems like an archaic treasure from the past, but I really loved being lost in Sybil's words through her letters. To add to this delight was the superb narration of Maggi-Meg Reed. There was a full cast narration of the audiobook, which truly brought it to life, but the star of the show was Reed; a tremendous job! If you are looking for a thoughtful, absorbing audiobook to close out the year, I urge you to pick up The Correspondent .
Sybil writes letters to communicate with family and friends, but also to process things herself. Readers are privy to her letters to and from her close friends, her brother, her sister-in-law, and even her literary heroes, such as Larry McMurtry. As mentioned, through these letters, readers learn more about Sybil's past as well as the way she operates. She can be a bit brash, stubborn, and point-blank, but half the time she makes very astute observations. Her life is forever changed when she receives a gift to trace her DNA origins and connect with her possible relatives. This is huge, as she is adopted and has always questioned her parentage, as all she was left with was a letter that her adopted mother shared with her. There's also a person that Sybil is writing to that she never sends the letters to, and slowly, readers piece together this part of the puzzle.
An epistolary novel is hard to pull off, especially one that is absorbing; these days, we don't have time for lengthy letters. It almost seems like an archaic treasure from the past, but I really loved being lost in Sybil's words through her letters. To add to this delight was the superb narration of Maggi-Meg Reed. There was a full cast narration of the audiobook, which truly brought it to life, but the star of the show was Reed; a tremendous job! If you are looking for a thoughtful, absorbing audiobook to close out the year, I urge you to pick up The Correspondent .
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