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, toJoan 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.
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. The Correspondent is a gent of a novel about the power of finding solace in literature and connection with people we might never meet in person.
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 encounter.
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, toJoan 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.
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. The Correspondent is a gent of a novel about the power of finding solace in literature and connection with people we might never meet in person.
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 encounter.