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Explore membershipsThe Correspondent
A Novel
Length
8 hours 35 minutes
Language
English
Narrators
Maggi-Meg Reed, Jane Oppenheimer, Carly Robins, Jeff Ebner, David Pittu, Chris Andrew Ciulla, Mark Bramhall, Petrea Burchard, Robert Petkoff, Kimberly Farr, Cerris Morgan-Moyer, Peter Ganim, Jade Wheeler & Various
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Learn moreBookseller recommendation
“Lovely. A reminder to us to write. Write our thoughts down and share them with the ones we love, admire, loathe or seek forgiveness from. I loved this one and will think about it often, I’m sure.”
— Melody • Park Books
Bookseller recommendation
“This book had an impact on me that I didn’t see coming! It’s my first epistle read, and pleasantly stretched my thinking! ”
— Virgie • Off the Beaten Path
Bookseller recommendation
“So many characters and stories to tell me the story of a women. A beautiful portrayal of connection.”
— Carrie • Interabang Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Oh my. Tread carefully with this one if your own heart is tender with grief, especially if you are a mother or a daughter. Virginia Evans turns an unflinching eye on familial relationships, with all of their joys and regrets. Beautifully written as a series of letters - some punctuated with the spot-on acerbic wit of the main protagonist, Sybil. The narrator cast does an admirable job giving voice to this epistolary format. Update: Just re-listened to it and loved it even more the second time through. I have recommended it to so many friends and customers, and everyone has loved it. ”
— Sara • Book People Richmond
Bookseller recommendation
“I love epistolary novels and this one is terrific. The story is well told through letters and emails written to and from Sybil Van Antwerp, a 73-year-old living alone in her house with a view of the river, in Annapolis, Maryland. The audio sparkles with a fine cast of narrators. I highly recommend.”
— Lorna • Wellesley Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Simply wonderful. Brilliantly executed audio production. Did not want this story to end. I’m so grateful to have read it. ”
— Jen • Townie Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Just beautiful. The full cast recording adds so much dimension to the story, told through Sybil's ongoing correspondence with various figures in her life. By the end I felt Sybil was my friend, a true gift of a book. ”
— Meg • Black Rock Books
Bookseller recommendation
“I loved this story and I love how it’s told almost completely through the correspondence to and from the main character. The MC is a flawed woman to be sure but she is still likeable. Her increasing self-awareness and personal growth as the book unfolds makes for a worthwhile read and is completely relatable. It will be awhile before I stop thinking about this story. The audio with multiple narrators is wonderful. ”
— Layne • Reads by the River
Bookseller recommendation
“I LOVED The Correspondent. As close to perfect (& perfectly satisfying) as any novel I’ve read.”
— Janet • Avid Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“Oh my goodness, I loved this epistolary novel! Beautifully written and wonderfully produced for audio. Gentle, but firm, and hopeful but sad. I loved getting to know Sybil through her letters. Loved the book references! The characters came to life for me! Read it especially if you loved A Man Called Ove. I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time!! Wonderfully produced for audio! Great listen!”
— Melanie • The Well-Read Moose
Bookseller recommendation
“A deeply moving and beautifully written novel...told entirely through letters to and from loved ones--and a few surprising acquaintances---it's an intimate story that feels so personal. It was so easy to read, yet rich with emotion. The format makes you feel like you're peeking into someone's soul, and each letter carries a blend of humour, heartache, and some laughs! It's warm, witty, and quietly profound. Towards the end, I found myself holding my heart and smiling with tears. This book is a reminder of how connection, even in written words, can heal, uplift, and change a life. This book makes me want to pour my heart into handwritten letters, each one penned with beauty and intention!”
— Christina • The Mulberry Bush Book Store
Bookseller recommendation
“Relationships past and present "bloom" through a series of letters and emails by Sybil, a 73 year old divorced/retired woman. Although she is tactless and quirky, her letters afford her a delayed self-awareness that is endearing and poignant. ”
— Heide M • Elm Street Books
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Discover the word-of-mouth hit hailed by Ann Patchett as “A cause for celebration”—an intimate novel about the transformative power of the written word and the beauty of slowing down to reconnect with the people we love.“The Correspondent is this year’s breakout novel no one saw coming.”—The Wall Street Journal“I cried more than once as I witnessed this brilliant woman come to understand herself more deeply.”—Florence Knapp, author of The NamesLONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE AND THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR, The Washington Post, Boston Globe, Elle, Christian Science Monitor, She Reads“Imagine, the letters one has sent out into the world, the letters received back in turn, are like the pieces of a magnificent puzzle. . . . 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?”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 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.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.
Virginia Evans is from the east coast of the United States. She attended James Madison University for her bachelor’s in English literature, as well as Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, for her master’s of philosophy in creative writing. Now she lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with her husband, two children, and her Red Labrador, Brigid.
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Audiobook details
Author:
Virginia Evans
Narrators:
Maggi-Meg Reed, Jane Oppenheimer, Carly Robins, Jeff Ebner, David Pittu, Chris Andrew Ciulla, Mark Bramhall, Petrea Burchard, Robert Petkoff, Kimberly Farr, Cerris Morgan-Moyer, Peter Ganim, Jade Wheeler & Various
ISBN:
9798217066377
Length:
8 hours 35 minutes
Language:
English
Publisher:
Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Publication date:
April 29, 2025
Edition:
Unabridged
Libro.fm rank:
#1 Overall
Genre rank:
#1 in Fiction
Reviews
“Subtly told and finely made, The Correspondent is a portrait of a small life expanding. Virginia Evans shows how one woman changes at a point when change had seemed impossible. That change, like this novel, turns out to be a cause for celebration.”—Ann Patchett“The Correspondent is at turns amusing and, poignant and ultimately, a pleasure to read. This moving novel unfurls its truths one letter at a time, filling in a complex and memorable picture of one woman’s life. Like a handwritten letter at its best, The Correspondent is meant to be savored.”—Charmaine Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake
“This novel is a complete and utter joy.”—Ann Napolitano
“Evans’s enchanting epistolary novel revolves around prickly septuagenarian Sybil Van Antwerp . . . [with] a dash of mystery that keeps the pages flying.”—The Washington Post
“The word-of-mouth bestseller of 2025 might be this quietly dazzling epistolary novel, which calls to mind Susie Boyt’s ‘Loved and Missed,’ another book that was passed around like a beloved recipe. . . . Note by note, Sybil’s world takes shape, raising poignant, timely questions about mercy and how we’re all connected.”—The New York Times, “Book of the Week”
“The charming debut from Evans takes the form of letters and emails exchanged by a divorced and retired woman with her friends, family, foes, and literary idols. . . . the detailed connections between each character are brilliantly mapped through the correspondence. It adds up to an appealing family drama.”—Publishers Weekly
“The circus of beautifully drawn characters, who receive and respond to Sybil’s letters, is vibrant and rich. Sybil has survived trauma, grief, and lost love. The letters are so deliciously crafted, Sybil’s life itself becomes a work of art.”—Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of The Good Left Undone
“I finished this wonderful, wonderful book in tears, and had to take a moment—several moments—to pull myself together. . . . Equal parts sorrow and quiet joy, the stuff of life, it will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you reflect, as all the best novels do.”—Fran Littlewood, New York Times bestselling author of Amazing Grace Adams
“I can’t praise it enough. Sybil is such a wonderful character, and the supporting cast so vivid and real. For a book about grief and regret it was also properly funny. It’s an absolute triumph.”—Clare Chambers, bestselling author of Small Pleasures and Shy Creatures
“Thank you, Virginia Evans, for a life beautifully told in letters, for creating a character whose mind struggles with her heart in a most intriguing, sympathetic, witty, and binge-worthy way.”—Elinor Lipman, author of Ms. Demeanor
“The Correspondent is the rarest of debuts with not a misplaced word or beat missed. Moving, funny and exquisite, it is a masterpiece in human frailty.”—Anne Griffin, #1 Irish bestselling author of When All Is Said
“What a lovely novel, I fell in love with the eloquent, stubborn Sybil, such a wonderful character.”—Margot Livesey, New York Times bestselling author of The Flight of Gemma Hardy and The Road from Belhaven
“Charming, engrossing, and deeply moving, Evans’s novel explores the way everyday choices and relationships shape a life and shows it’s never too late to form new connections, make amends, or even fall in love.”—Booklist Expand reviews
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