The Correspondent

By: Virginia Evans

“Grief shared…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.”

Sybil Van Antwerp uses letters to connect with people. She writes to her brother, her children, a neighbor, and various friends, and others she has never met. Through these letters she’s forced to face various things in her life for which she needs to address, for which she would like forgiveness, and for which she owes an explanation. It’s not until she’s able to do this that she can truly live out the rest of her days.

Okay.. Please don’t hate me. This is a highly regarded book. There are tons of 4 and 5 star reviews for this book. But… it just did not work for me. After I started reading the book, I had to go back and read the synopsis. It says, in part, “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.” Now, I know what it’s talking about, but it honestly didn’t feel that significant for me. It was significant for that particular event, but not enough to “examine one of the most painful periods of her life.”

The book is told entirely through letters, mostly from Sybil. The story felt disconnected. There were letters that didn’t push the story forward. After a while, I was really bored. There were a few different “story lines” through the letters that were interesting, but there was just so much for me that wasn’t.

These types of books aren’t for me. I need dialogue and more action. Lesson learned. But it’s not the first time that a popular book hasn’t worked for me! It’s a well loved book, so it’s likely you’ll enjoy it more than I did!

Publish Date: April 29, 2025
Find the book here.
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