This is an absolutely heartfelt and delightful story about a woman in her 70s, retired from a legal career, who corresponds primarily through handwritten letters and occasional emails. As the story progresses, we find out more about her life, and little nuggets are revealed. There is one letter that she writes in segments but never seems to finish, and the reader is left guessing, until near the end, to whom that letter is addressed.

As with most epistolary novels, this is a fairly quick read. I did have some trouble at the beginning keeping characters straight, but it didn’t take me long to figure out who each person was.

Thank you to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoy reading books that are written in the form of letters. It makes you feel like you are looking over the shoulder of the person writing the letter or the person receiving the letter. The action that is in the letters flows nicely. It makes you look at your life and what you've done with it.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions stated here are my own.

This book seeped into my heart and mind, page by page. Epistolary format allows facets of Sybil, the main character and her "pen pals" to develop slowly. Strands of plot unravel page by page. A slow-burn of suspense and my favorite "comfort read" in a great long time. I found myself compelled to learn each secret as it was slowly revealed. Highly recommended to book groups and to readers who may want to reconsider the power of letter writing as a life practice.

Sybil is retired and spends her days writing letters. She writes to many people- her best friend, famous authors, former co-workers (and their sons), people she encounters. She had an accomplished law career and is confident but feels that maybe she could have done better in some areas of her life. Written in an epistolary style (in letter format), this book has a ton of heart, and I loved reading about Sybil and her pen pal's most inner thoughts.

This book was much hyped, and I found it to completely live up to that. As a whole I don't love epistolary novels, but like Guernsey and Channing Cross, this one worked for me. I loved Sybil, even when I questioned her actions, and I loved how this story unfolded. One of the things I felt the author did right is to move the action along but also make it one solid, cohesive story. Making the story flow correctly is a difficult feature in this type of book, but this one is great, and I loved it.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! I fell in love with Sybil Van Antwerp in the very first letter. I want to be her friend. I want her to write ME letters. I want to be her when I grow up. Please, Virginia Evans, give us more!!

A lovely quiet novel, written entirely through letters. As you read through years of correspondence, you get to know Sybil, a 70+ retired grandmother, mother, and friend. Adopted as a baby, divorced, and still grieving her son's death when he was a boy, Sybil is also going blind. She loves to read and has written letters her entire life

This is not a fast paced action packed book. This is the story of a life lived through the lens of letters written to and from Sybil. It's lovely.

Thank you to netgalley for an ARC to enjoy.

The Correspondent had a lot going on for a book written thru letters. Somehow I knew exactly who these people were and why they were important to Sybil. Although I must admit, writing to your neighbor seems a bit crazy. But now I think I need to write more letters.

It’s the perfect book. This will easily be in my favorite books of 2025! This is an epistolary novel and I usually hate those but the writing is beautiful. The way the author writes about grief is real, raw and magnificent. You learn so much about Sybil from the letters she writes but you also learn about the people in her life. She even writes letters to an unknown person that she never sends and when you find out who they are written to near the end of the book, its amazing. This book left me so emotional at the end and literally wanting to start all the way over again with the insights I had after finishing, it’s so layered and nuanced and full and rich. Totally in love with this book, this author and this writing! Give it all the stars!!

It's only April and I already suspect that "The Correspondent" will be my favorite book of the year. I consumed this book and love everything about it: the letters and emails that constitute the entirety of the narrative, the characters whose lives are revealed in the correspondences, the relationships that evolve, the stories they get told, etc., etc.

An absolutely mesmerizing and beautiful debut.

I loved this book! It took me a minute to keep up with all the names/relationships to the main character, Sybil, but once I did I was hooked. It was heart warming and heart breaking all in one fell swoop.

What a wonderful treat this book was! Sybil is in the later years of her life but still spunky and blunt as she writes her numerous weekly letters to family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances, authors, nearly everyone she’s ever known. She’s experienced some painful losses earlier in her life that she’s still processing but, unforeseen by her, some happiness still finds its way into her life.

This novel is entirely composed of letters Sybil writes or receives. The author does a stupendous job indirectly revealing the personalities of her characters in the snippets we read in their correspondence. Without trying, Sybil’s way in the world made me laugh out loud several times as well as wipe away the errant tear. A favorite part was having so many of my favorite book titles mentioned and a few even discussed. I loved this story!

Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the ARC to read and review.

A novel to move you. Sybil's life is as complex and nuanced as the next, and as someone who corresponds best through the written word, we get glimpses into her past, her present, her constancy, and her deepest secrets. The Correspondent is a novel that will make you laugh, cry, smile, and wince as Sybil Van Antwerp bares her soul into the pages.

An epistolary novel is one told entirely through correspondence. There is no narrator or outside voice - we are presented with letters and emails that cross Sybil's desk, both incoming and outgoing, and from these we discern her life.

What do we know? She has a complicated relationship with her family, her previous career, a young acquaintance, a new medical diagnosis, and secrets from her past she is both keeping and some she is too afraid to discover. She is older, her children are grown, and she is coming to terms with her life, such as she has lived it to this point.

This is a beautiful novel. It unfolds so elegantly with each new letter. Sybil is at times laughable stodgy in her set ways, but also touching and vulnerable in others. Her story teaches us that it's never too late to put yourself out there, to right previous wrongs, or to learn something new about yourself.

I love Sybil, and by the end of her story, I had tears streaming down my face. This is a story I won't soon forget, and I hope you read it too.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Like “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” and “Where’d You Go Bernadette”, this is an epistolary novel with the majority – though not all – of the letters being composed by Sybil Van Antwerp, a retired distinguished law clerk. Independent seventy-three yo. Sybil likes the art of letter writing in lieu of emails or phone calls even when it’s just to her widowed neighbor or to her best friend. But she also writes to authors whose books she’s enjoyed or been inspired by such as Joan Didion or Larry McMurtry as well as to a myriad of other people. Though the relationship with her daughter who lives abroad with her father is strained, the letters between the characters help the reader understand why. When health issues arise combined with an unexpected situation from her past, Sybil realizes that unfortunately she needs other people.
A good read and who doesn’t love a story where the characters ask each other “what are you reading?”

So touching and moving. I definitely recommend this book for a Bookclub read.
The letter writing (a lost art) was such a wonderful element to build characters.

I am such a sucker for books that have written letters and emails in them, so imagine how giddy I was to find a book made-up entirely of letters? It was outstanding.

I loved getting to know Sybil, a septuagenarian, by way of her telling her story through a series of letters. It's brilliant, it's bold, and it's so very captivating. It's a story of love, of loss, of dreams, of regrets, and just of the very things that made her into who she is. It makes for such an incredible novel and is one that I know I will be thinking of for a long time to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to netgalley, the publisher and author for the ARC. This novel by Virgina Evans gave me a lot to think about. Living, dying, losing senses, aging. Every year we get old let and I dread it. My child is getting older and it’s flying by. This was a great read but a hard read. Sad, made me stop and think so many times. Did love the letter format.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading an ARC copy of The Correspondent, Virginia Evans’ delightful debut novel, which will be published by Crown in late April 2025.

This utterly engaging novel, written in an epistolary format, features a rather unexpected main character. Sybil VanAntwerp is a sharp, older woman with a fascinating background . . . and a serious letter writing habit. She writes regularly to friends, family members, former work colleagues, a troubled teen, her neighbor, customer service representatives - even well-known, real-life authors. Her letters - and their responses - are pure delight.

With an interesting and well-developed cast of characters, a compelling storyline that unspools completely through written correspondence, and excellent pacing (I raced through this book; it never flags), The Correspondent will definitely be one of my favorite reads of 2025. The power of love, forgiveness, and friendship, lifelong curiosity and an openness to change . . . are just what I need to be reading about these days. And, of course, it’s always lovely to encounter a complex, older female character in literature. I loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on April 29, 2025.

5 stars

Dearest Reader,

Please believe me when I say this: Virginia Evans has crafted the perfect story. In this heartfelt epistolary novel, we meet Sybil Van Antwerp, a septuagenarian who spends her days writing letters to make sense of her world. To Sybil, letters are more than words on a page: they are a way to preserve a life. She regularly corresponds with friends, family, and beloved authors, weaving a tapestry of connection and reflection.

As Sybil’s past unfolds, we are reminded of the power forgiving others, as well as ourselves. Though she has long been set in her ways, we witness her journey toward vulnerability and the profound beauty of truly opening up to those around her.

The only disappointment? THE CORRESPONDENT is a debut, which means we must wait for more from Virginia Evans.

I’ll sign off just as Sybil does in letters to a beloved friend:

What are you reading?

READ THIS IF YOU:
-believe in the power of the written word
-know its never too late to change
-love the question: What are you reading?

This book was equal parts heartwarming, heartbreaking and funny. I very much enjoyed this look back via letters in Sybil’s life. She went through heartbreak and you go with her as she writes around and about these times. I laughed out loud because of her witty letters and it was a treat!

Epistolary novels usually aren’t my preferred reading format but this book was a welcome exception. The Correspondent is a reflective reminder that family and friendship are two of life’s greatest joys (and sometimes biggest sources of grief) and forgiveness is an incredible gift to give and receive.

Thank you NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the opportunity to read this book!