The Correspondent

 

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, 285 pages.

Sybil Van Antwerp has always made her most meaningful connections through writing. She has spent her very full life writing letters to anyone who struck her fancy: loved ones, authors whose work she enjoyed, professional correspondence, and anyone else who cares to write. Much to her displeasure, being in her 70s does not stop life from continuing to change, and even feelings she has kept buried for decades will not lie in peace. 

Despite the crushing popularity of this book, I'm afraid I found it pretty dull. I am usually a big fan of epistolary novels, but I think I would have liked this one better if it had some sort of anchor point, aside from Sybil herself. It did feel very realistic, with correspondence often drying up and not particularly connecting. I did like Sybil, flawed though she was, and the writing itself had a lot of verisimilitude, I only wish there was anything at all in this book that had hooked me. I know many people enjoy this book, but I don't myself understand the hype.