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. “Masterful is the pace at which
Evans fills in the blanks of her protagonist’s life.”—Frank Bruni The New York Times “I
cried more than once as I witnessed this brilliant woman come to understand herself more
deeply.”—Florence Knapp author of The Names LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST
NOVEL PRIZE AND THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL • A PBS TOP SUMMER BOOK • LIBRARYREADS PICK OF THE
MONTH “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.
