THE CORRESPONDENT

The Correspondent is a beautifully crafted epistolary novel that chronicles the latter years of Sybil Van Antwerp, an elderly woman who is a lifelong prolific letter writer. Through correspondence, Sybil navigates friendship, motherhood and second chance courtship, finding connection and meaning through letters sent and received. But as her story unfolds - brilliantly by @virginia.l.evans , who reveals just a bit at time - we learn that Sybil’s character is layered and complex, filled with grief, regret and forgiveness in one of the most moving stories I’ve read.
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This magnificent book is a reminder of the timeless nature of letters - their permanence, and the legacy they create between correspondents. Sybil can seem blunt or detached, but she is also profoundly vulnerable, and capable of astonishing kindness. I loved the notion that people can still be surprised by life’s turns in their later years. Being an observer to Sybil’s character, watching her mind and heart open throughout the story, is a reading experience I won’t soon forget. This deeply affecting book is bound to be on my list of favorites for the year.
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I’ve always wanted to try making envelope pies, and this seemed like the perfect book to pair them with! Especially since Sybil makes a cherry pie at one point, which helped me choose the filling. This is an easy and satisfying project, and it’s fun to stencil an open envelope onto pie crust for each letter. So cute!
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Sybil sometimes writes to authors she admires - have you ever done this? What would you say? Let me know in the comments! (As a kid I wrote a fan letter to Lois Lowry and she wrote me back! ❤️)