Immortal Words

Retired lawyer Sybil Van Antwerp lives alone in Arnold, Maryland. There is routine to the septuagenarian's life. She reads, keeps her house by the river tidy, but mostly she sits at her desk with a mug of Irish breakfast tea and writes letters. Occasionally she will send an email, but Sybil prefers to write in cursive longhand and send the letters by post.  

Sybil writes to authors like Joan Didion, Ann Patchett and Larry McMurtry, telling them about her admiration for their books. She writes to her beloved brother, Felix now living in France with his husband. She writes to her daughter Fiona, a career-driven mother living in London, and to her son Bruce who lives near enough that he could visit more often. She writes to a child of a colleague, the local Garden Club, her neighbour, the editors of a newspaper and a company help desk. Sybil is also writing a long, unsent letter to another person in which she reveals some of her most painful memories and deepest fears. 

Virginia Evans' delightful debut The Correspondent (2025) is an epistolary novel, told in letters. Through the letters she writes and receives, we learn about Sybil and the secrets she holds, the regrets she has, and the belonging she desires. 

Sybil is a remarkable character you cannot help feeling affection for.  Externally she presents as strong-willed and cold, but underneath she is vulnerable and needs to make peace with her past. Evans has lovingly crafted Sybil and tenderly helps her to know and possibly forgive herself. 

The novel is engrossing and covers some deep themes - family, friendship, loss, aging, regret, companionship. I loved how it shined a light on the lost art of letter writing. In a world of social media, instant messaging and AI, the art of a handwritten letter has disappeared. I cannot even remember the last time I wrote or received a handwritten letter, yet I have fond memories of sending aerograms and cards in the time before the internet. If I could, I would love to write to Sybil (she would be an excellent pen pal) and exchange book recommendations with her.  

I highly recommend this unique novel. While it is only January, I have a feeling this will be among my top books for the year. I will be thinking about The Correspondent for a long time to come.