The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans is the winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction. It was published in paperback in June. I’d read a review of it at some point and had it listed on my phone as a book I would like to read. After feeling very virtuous for buying some books from Vinted (more reviews to come in the coming weeks!), I treated myself to a few new books from Waterstones, including It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell and The Correspondent.

Sybil Van Antwerp is 73 at the start of the book. She lives alone and is slowly losing her sight. She has been a prolific letter writer all her life, preferring to put pen to paper rather than use the phone. The Correspondent is told entirely through letters and emails sent to and from Sybil from 2012 through to 2022.

Sybil writes to friends, family, a troubled teenage boy and strangers, including authors and celebrities. With her gardening group and her letters, she is alone, but not lonely. Her family want her to travel, but she is content at home.

Through her letters, we piece together Sybil’s life as it is now and the sadness she has experienced in the past. We learn more about her family relationships and the difficulties she has been through. We also experience the way her life changes as she edges closer to 80.

Even though it’s very far from a thriller, I still don’t want to give too much away. I enjoyed learning about Sybil’s life as I read and I want other readers to have that experience without spoilers too.

This is a beautiful and moving book, which is both simple and thought provoking. There’s no real drama or excitement, but after reading a lot of psychological thrillers lately, I think that is what I needed!

If you enjoy reading about families and friendship, I would definitely recommend The Correspondent.