Book: The Correspondent
Author: Virginia Evans
Pages: 304
This is my 190th read for the year
What Amazon says:
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 wisdoe 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 audti a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurty 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, distinguised lawyer, she has leved a very full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful perios 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.
This was a great book. It is a popular one right now, and I have to admit I was worried going in that it wasn't going to be for me. But it drew me in from the start. A life told in letters was a wonderful way to write a book. I imagined my own grandmother and how she probably did similar writings during her life - almost a whole life before the internet made letter writing almost obsolete - and what I wouldn't give to have some of those correspondence to see what she wrote. this book is well written, and flows at a great pace. I even got a little teary with the end. Glad I read this one.
Stars: 5
