The Correspondent: A Novel
4.6 | 54,766 ratings
Price: 13.99
Last update: 02-02-2026
Product details
- ASIN : B0CYXX3PX1
- Publisher : Crown
- Accessibility :
- Publication date : April 29, 2025
- Language : English
- File size : 4.4 MB
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 291 pages
- ISBN-13 : 978-0593798447
- Page Flip : Enabled
- Best Sellers Rank:#15 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Mothers & Children Fiction
- Contemporary Women's Fiction
- Women's Domestic Life Fiction
- Customer Reviews:4.64.6 out of 5 stars(18,306)
Top reviews from the United States
- Rebecca MBeautiful and Thoughtful Epistolary NovelThis novel is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. I absolutely adore Virginia Evans’ gorgeous and thoughtful writing. The entire story unfolds through letters and emails, which makes it feel deeply personal and intimate, and as if I were getting a glimpse into someone’s most innermost thoughts, joys, and struggles.
The main character, Sybil, completely captivated me. She’s thoughtful, stubborn, and so honest. Even though I am in my late twenties, I saw a great deal of myself in her. The other characters were just as memorable. I especially loved Theodore and her correspondence with Basam.
This book will stay with me and is a reminder that it is never too late to change your life. - CeleneHighly recommend! Such a great read!???????? Amazing. I picked this book up this morning and could not put it down the rest of the day. A great read and listen as I went back and forth with both. I absolutely loved it.
This book was different from what I have been reading all year and I loved deviating from my norm with this one. The entire book tells a story through letters back and forth between the main character, Sybil Van Antwerp, and various people making for a quick and entertaining read. I loved Sybil and the author does such a great job creating her character, I felt like she was a real person. This is such a beautiful story and so well written. highly recommend! I had no idea I was going to pick this book up and love it as much as I did. - Mary-Martha PantherEngaging and Well-Written!The Correspondent is a captivating novel that draws you in from the very first page. The story is well-paced and layered, combining suspense, drama, and emotional depth in a way that keeps you hooked throughout.
The characters are richly developed, with motivations and personalities that feel realistic and relatable. The author’s writing style is elegant yet accessible, making it a pleasure to read. I found myself completely immersed in the story and eager to see how everything would unfold.
Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction with a strong narrative and engaging, complex characters. - Tracey BuchananSurprising InsightsCharming, wise, and thoughtful. That’s how I’d describe this epistolary novel that took me by surprise by living up to its hype. I vacillated between giving it four or five stars and settled on five because it delivered a great story about an interesting character in a difficult fashion.
Sybil Van Antwerp, the protagonist, is a writer of letters, her preferred method of correspondence. Each note—whether a physical letter or text—reveals more about who this woman is and how she thinks. Her mistakes, regrets, joys, and hopes become evident, and the reader is rewarded with honest insights into what makes a life worth living.
Themes of motherhood, the impact of career, friendship, forgiveness, and redemption weave together to deliver a heartrending story about a remarkable, intelligent, good-hearted, and flawed human. - Tom SeaburnThe best novel I have ever read. You must read this novel.Wow. This book is a masterpiece. The writing style, which I have learned is called "Epistolary Style," tells the story entirely through letters and emails written by the main character, Sybil Van Antwerp. The story is touching, the characters are powerful and interesting. The writing style is so much more interesting than plain old serial story telling.
- CJ BurtA Life BurdenedHer beautifully written letters, and the responses she received, tell the story of Sybil Van Antwerp' s life. At first one may be a bit aggravated by the fact the whole book is conveyed only through letters. It is slow going at first. As I read I couldn't help but wonder why this book had so many good reviews.
But it won't be long until one starts turning pages with eager anticipation.
Its about a very accomplished woman lawyer who has had a wonderfully successful career and loved her work, and clung to it like a lifeboat.
It is after she retires and has slow and uneventful days upon days when she begins thinking more deeply about her life, her choices, and the secret she is carrying.
Just because the story is told in letters don't think it doesn't move along well. I enjoyed this book immensely and since the protagonist is around my age when the book begins, it was easy to identify and become caught up in The Correspondent to the point I read it in two long evenings. I had been told it was sad, and I didn't read it for a while after I first heard of it because I fight depression enough without reading sad books. It is a retelling, in a way, but her life is not sad. Reading this book lead me to ruminate on my own life,and I doubt it's possible for it not to have that effect. The woman is carrying a dark, heavy burden, but it will eventually be lifted in time to add a forgiving and beautiful chapter. - 2LZLife Through LettersI simultaneously read the Kindle book while I listened to the audio version, and it was an extraordinary reading experience. The entire book is made up of letters, mostly sent be Sybil Van Antwerp, but also responses she received. I love a book where the main character is not their first impression, and such is the case here. At first Sybil appears as a bitter curmudgeon, but cleverly, through her letters, the reader is provided, little by little, with her backstory, and a more genuine understanding of Sybil. Many of the letters are not earth-shattering; they are recollections, some revealing, some mundane, but taken as a whole, the reader glimpses Sybil at her best, and at her worst. As the years unwind, she is able to express her regret more honestly and to acknowledge how it affected the way she lived her life, and how it impacted those around her. It is a relatable and touching, human story about the joys and sorrows of life. I loved it! I Highly recommended, especially on audio. All of the narrators are amazing!