The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Published by Crown
Publication date: April 29, 2025
Genres: Book Clubs, Debut, Fiction, Literary
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When Sylvia Van Antwerp came of age there was no such thing as digital. Given that, she sees no reason to abandon her lifelong habit of communicating via letter. She’ll even use email when it is the only option, but that is as much as she’ll concede. This means Virginia Evans’ debut The Correspondent is an epistolary novel comprised only of Sylvia‘s communications with the outside world, whether it be a long, chatty letter to friends and family, email to a customer service person, notes to neighbors, editorials to the newspaper, or thoughtful letters to a young friend.
Now in her 70s, after a long and successful legal career, a stable marriage (even if it ended in divorce), and having raised two children Sylvia has settled into a routine of time spent however she chooses. When The Correspondent opens her longtime legal partner has died and she’s asked to speak at the memorial, two events that shake her up. One, she doesn’t like public speaking and two, someone starts sending her threatening letters about one of the cases they tried. Additionally, her son has given her the gift of a kit to a DNA site so that she can finally look into her birth family—something everyone around her is more interested in than she is.
Much of why I loved The Correspondent was how Evans so carefully crafted a woman rigidly set in her routine, of an age where her terminology and worldview might be seen as prejudicial, and showed how, in actuality, Sylvia grew through the pages of the book. Even in her 70s, she was open to new experiences and to adjusting her thinking as she got to know people. It was a beautiful reminder that empathy is not weakness and an open mind will override ignorance.
This is not to say that Sylvia softened by the end of the story. She continued to do things on her own terms, including evading an overzealous suitor. She may eventually go out with him, but only when she’s ready and only in so far as she’s interested. It’s hard to come up with enough synonyms for ‘lovely’ when reviewing a book like this because it is the most fitting description. This is lovely, gentle, humorous, reading that rewards with a feeling of calm and contentment after having finished. And sometimes that is the best thing one can get from a novel. The Correspondent was a delight.
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*I received a free copy of this book from Crown Books in exchange for an honest review.*
I agree with your review. I just finished this novel yesterday and I enjoyed it. It’s been popular this past summer! I like how Sybil uses writing correspondence as a way to make meaning to her world and also a way to deal with grief. It makes a good point about the written word … in an easy engaging novel. thumbs up. Hope all is well there. I have a trip to DC/VA next week to visit old friends …. i’m going into the heart of the tyranny.
What a beautiful way to put it. I had almost forgotten about her grief, but that was a key component, wasn’t it?
I’m so behind in answering this, please let me know you’ve made it back from Mordor to the safety of the shire.