Introduction

NATIONAL 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.

“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 • 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.

Editorial Review

No Editorial Review Currently Available

Excerpt

Mr. Larry McMurtry
? Booked Up Bookstore
216 S. Center St.
Archer City, TX 76351
 
December 10, 2018
 
Dear Mr. McMurtry,
I hope this letter makes its way into your hands via your bookstore as I was unable to find your home address. I understand you live in Archer City. I have been to Texas once, Houston rather recently as a matter of fact, but at this point in my life I don’t imagine I will go again. However, if I did I would want to visit your bookstore. I have admired you for years and imagined, if we had ever had the occasion to meet, say, at a dinner party, we would have fastened to each other like magnets. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

From the publisher:


1.   “But the worst dream, the one that repeats, is that I sit down at the desk to write and there is the stack of letter writing paper, there are my pens, there are the envelopes, and I’m pawing at them like a cat, but I cannot pick them up. . . . I can’t write.” Sybil states this early on in the narrative, about the dreams she is having as she deals with going blind. What did this tell you about her character early on?

2.   Sybil is not only a fanatic for the art of letter writing but she holds classic forms of communication in high regard (she tells James that she still reads the newspaper “in print, adequately edited, without the muck of advertisements blinking away”). What value do you see in these older forms of communicating? Are there things you wish were still mainstream that have been replaced by modern tech?

3.   Sybil often remarks in her letters that they are follow-ups to phone calls or in lieu of calls so that she can compose her thoughts. What, do you find, are the benefits of writing out thoughts instead of a call? How do you think it helps Sybil to deal with the strained relationships in her life?

4.   Sybil doesn’t just communicate with her contemporaries but younger people as well, like Harry and the high school student writing a paper on her. How did you notice her tone shift when addressing these characters of various ages? How does Sybil paint a different picture of herself with different people? Which one is the “true” Sybil, if any?

5.   Sybil writes to Joan Didion and Ann Patchett, among others. Which authors would you send letters to, whose work has impacted you the most?

6.   During one of her letters to Harry, in answer to his question about her history, she briefly tells him and ends with “now that’s me breezing over something like 30 years of day-in-day-out work.” If you had to distill your professional history into a few sentences, what would you say?

7.   Did you have any theories about who the unsent pages throughout the novel were intended for?

8.   Sybil ends up in quite a love triangle. Between Theodore and Mick, who were you rooting for, if any, for her to wind up with?

9.   Were you shocked at Rosalie’s “betrayal” with Sybil’s daughter? Did you see it as a betrayal, as Sybil calls it?

10. When Sybil reveals the truth about Gilbert’s death, how did this shift your understanding of her?

Weblinks

»	Publisher's book info
»	Author's website
»	Follow the author on Instagram

Book Club Recommendations

Recommended to book clubs by 1 of 1 members.

Member Reviews

Rate this book