A life in correspondence… and what a beautiful journey. ~ Sheila
Sylvia lives a life of letters. At the age of 72, retired and with plenty of time, Sylvia is up and writing by 10 am most mornings. She writes to her brother, to her friends, a young man, to authors to share her thoughts on their books, and she writes often to someone she can not mail the letters to.
Life would (should) go on day to day, pleasant as always for Sylvia, but when letters from someone in her past force her to think about the most painful period of her life, Sylvia has no choice but to take a hard look at the highlights of the years, as well as the ones she would prefer not to revisit.
Honestly wow. Always a fan of unique writing styles and something that does not feel like a cookie-cutter version of a popular title, The Correspondent hit me a bit by surprise. In all the good ways. Here you will not find a crazy twist, nor will you find an unreliable narrator, a psychological thrill, murder, or any of the other things that are drawing people to books these days –
Instead, I found a book that was like a palate cleanser, just a nice, moving read. I fell in love with the flow of the letters back and forth – as well as this lovely character created in Sylvia. But it’s not just a book about letters; there is life in between – happenings, and remembrances that all lead up to a delightful read.
I discovered this book through social media when I kept seeing it pop up as a great read for book clubs, and descriptions that made me want to take a closer look.
I’m so glad I did.
Rated: 3.8 out of 5
Read Author Before: New to me
Read Author Again: I would
Book Club Worthy: I think a discussion about the book, as well as the lost art of writing, would make for an interesting time. Evans’ book is unique in so many ways – yet readable, and that is not always the case.
Book Journey 
another to add to the list! And that beautiful cover
Its hard to explain this book – it has a simple yet complex beauty to it – the simplicity of letter writing, but a storyline rheads through it as well.
sounds like a book my ex wife would adore. For that reason alone I will add it to my TBR
Nice! I will be curious to what you think of it.
I loved this book. As a person who has written letters all her life it was lovely to see how much correspondence was written and received. If I have someone’s address, I will write you!
I wish I was that person! I set a goal once to write a letter a day for a year… some sort of correspondence, a card a letter, whatever…. I don’t think I made it a week.
My sister wasn’t a letter writer but I still sent a letter at least once a month. It’s a cool way to brighten someone’s day by getting a letter or card in the mailbox as it’s just so rare these days. This year I sent out some Christmas cards – folks will be surprised.
I love that.!
well, i liked your review but not so sure i could sell the book to my bookclub with a 3.8 rating.
I’ve seen a lot of great reviews and heard some chatter on NPR about this one being a dark horse for a few major awards.
The letter writer’s novel and those who still enjoy receiving them. So well done and a clever device to drip feed the reader clues creating that sense of anticipation. I also loved all the book recommendations!