Book Review: The Correspondent

I have been a correspondent. In my early days, I had a few best friends with whom I exchanged lengthy letters. In my teen years, I had a friend who had gone off to college (in Indianapolis, at Butler University, of all places). That friend faithfully responded to my many letters. In my college years, I continued that correspondence and also wrote to family members. Post-college, I had a deepening correspondence with a fellow mission-team member. Then came letters back and forth between people I met in my travels. After my oldest son was born, I sought out a foreign pen-pal.  Yes, I have always loved composing and receiving letters!

This book, The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans, articulates exactly how I have felt. It is easier for me to process things and to express myself with the written word. Don't box me into a corner with a verbal fight! Allow me to defend myself and put forth my views in a letter. This is a beautiful book about a character who seeks to deal with life's losses through her correspondence with others. Sybil van Antwerp writes letters to her brother, her best friend, favored authors, and young people she hopes to mentor. She urges a college dean to allow her to audit courses. To some, she writes about her adoption and the feelings it engenders. To others, she writes her terror at impending blindness. Then there are the letters, left unsent, to an individual named Colt. When she starts receiving anonymous letters with ill-intent, she must face her past and all its tragedies and triumphs. As readers, we get to follow this process through the letters she writes and receives.

I love epistolary novels, so when I saw the popular buzz, I knew I wanted to read this book. And when I say buzz, I mean buzz. The book is currently ranked #3 on Amazon. It has won many accolades and awards. My husband came into the room and began talking to me as I was nearing the conclusion. I could not tear my eyes away. Then, the tears threatened and spilled over. Of course, he wondered what made me cry, but he is not a lover of fiction. I tried to explain the great sorrow, but he had not been drawn into it as I had through countless pages. I feel sorry for him. What joy it is to slowly unravel a tale leading to empathy and compassion for a character drawn from the author's imagination. If you read this book, be sure to take time for the author's acknowledgements at the end. I even looked up the scripture reference for James 1:17. Although this is not a Christian book, that verse resonates after reading this story. 

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