&ldquo\;Imagine\, the letters one has sent out into the world\, the letters received back in turn\, are like the pie ces of a magnificent puzzle. . . . Isn&rsquo\;t there something wonderful in that\, to think that a story of one&rsquo\;s life is preserved in some way\, that this very letter may one day mean something\, even if it is a v ery small thing\, to someone?&rdquo\;
\nFilled with knowledge that o nly 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 wi sdom of old age\, and the mistakes and acts of kindness that occur during a lifetime.
\nSybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings\, around ha lf past ten\, Sybil sits down to write letters&mdash\;to her brother\, to her best friend\, to the president of the university who will not allow he r to audit a class she desperately wants to take\, to Joan Didion and Larr y 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.
\nSybil expects her world to go on as it always has&mdash\;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 th e 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 forw ard until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.
\nSybil Va n Antwerp&rsquo\;s life of letters might be &ldquo\;a very small thing\,&r dquo\; but she also might be one of the most memorable characters you will ever read.
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