The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

 

Sybil Van Antwerp was a lawyer.  Now retired, she lives a quiet life and carries on with her biggest hobby; writing letters.  She writes to her family and friends as one might suspect.  She writes notes to her neighbors when they do something kind for her.  She writes to the president of a nearby university where she audits classes and argues when the audit policy is changed.  She writes letters she doesn't send.  She writes to authors whose books she has enjoyed and has established relationships with some through these letters.  She writes to a young teenage boy who is having a hard time adjusting to life with a brilliant mind who is rejected by his peers.

But she doesn't always tell her secrets.  She has one in particular that will change her life drastically that she doesn't share with anyone.  Her letters are not always kind; sometimes she argues and lectures those who have upset her.  Through her letters we see her family relationships.  We see her oldest friendships and how she threatens it.  We see her kindness in her letters to a wounded teenager and her willingness to do whatever she can to help him.  We see her blooming romances with two different men.

I'm so glad I read this novel.  It has been picked as a PBS Top Summer Book and a LibraryReads Pick Of The Month and I imagine it will get more awards.  This is her debut novel and I can't wait to read others.  I expected a saccharine novel but was excited to discover a novel that showed all sides of a woman who has led a full and interesting life.  I'm even excited to discover that she also lives in North Carolina about thirty miles from me which means I have a good chance of seeing her in person at a book event.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.