So many things to think about, mull over, digest – if you will – and then wind up comparing with your own life. Perhaps that is what Virginia Evans had in mind while writing THE CORRESPONDENT and creating Sybil. Sybil is an incredibly unique character, or is she? That is the question – probably just brought a smile to your face. There is certainly an element of humor, at her own expense, in the multitude of writings by Sybil.
There’s no question of her love of writing. Nor her immense talent with the written word. It’s her life that holds many seemingly unanswered questions. Sybil, in her letters and writings, often contemplates the why of things she has done. Or, more importantly, those she neglected to do. For example, respond to her ex- husband’s unexpected letter.
Virginia Evans has created a character who is unerringly quite brilliant and yet almost childlike in her attitude towards life moments. We learn about the death of her son. We learn about her knowledge of being adopted. But all manner of description doesn’t follow until the midpoint of THE CORRESPONDENT. You might think, Oh well, but by this point, you are immersed in the life of Sybil, her friends, family, and those she has corresponded with over many years.
THE CORRESPONDENT is filled with stories written in the hand of Sybil to a vast assortment of folks. Each letter continues her story, filled with familiar and historical characters. So, as you follow the years of Sybil, you are also on a journey through history. Granted to bring wonderful moments of memories. Life is a journey through hills and valleys. Some folk leave behind wondrous memories; others are remiss in what might be neglected. Sybil’s life is respondent with memories as told to her myriad of pen pals.
I do agree with Sybil on her opinion of the lack of closeness in the age of text and email. I love to write, hence my appreciation for the opportunity to write reviews.
Some writers have a panache for putting pen to paper. Virginia Evans is supreme in that. Intricate details count, whether the drop of a name, connection to an incident, a date, a time in history, or the font used in a letter. Makes you think about the construct of this book. THE CORRESPONDENT by Virginia Evans is a terrific book club choice or any chance to dissect a story that brings thoughts alive on every page. Or if you are looking for a great beach read. Be prepared to laugh and alternately sigh at so many points in THE CORRESPONDENT. Enjoy.
“Imagine, the letters one has sent out into the world, the letters received back in turn, are like the pieces of a magnificent puzzle, or, a better metaphor, if dated, the links of a long chain, and even if those links are never put back together, which they will certainly never be, even if they remain for the rest of time dispersed across the earth like the fragile blown seeds of a dying dandelion, isn’t there something wonderful in that, to think that a story of one’s life is preserved in some way, that this very letter may one day mean something, even if it is a very small thing, to someone?”
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 audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry 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, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a very full life. 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.
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 wisdom of old age, and the mistakes and acts of kindness that occur during a lifetime. Sybil Van Antwerp’s life of letters might be “a very small thing,” but she also might be one of the most memorable characters you will ever read.
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