Hello 2026 and it’s gonna be a wild one in publishing this year!!! We’re thrilled to announce that The Correspondent is our January Book Club pick for Unconditionally Her Book Club! Kick off the new year with thought-provoking discussion, inspiring stories, and a community of readers who love to dive deep. Grab your copy and join us as we explore the pages together this month!

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER #1 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.

“The Correspondent is this year’s breakout novel no one saw coming.”—The Wall Street Journal

“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 AND THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR, The Washington Post, Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, She Reads

“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.

Sybil Van Antwerp is a 72 year old retired attorney who is losing her eyesight. She lives alone, loved to read and write letters. She writes everyone…authors of books she likes (or doesn’t), her brother, her best friend, a troubled teenage boy (and his parents), etc. 

I was amused as she navigates her way through email when that becomes the only way to get to customer service. Then she begins corresponding with her rep. While Sybil’s story is told entirely through letters that she writes or receives, we learn so much about her life, her successes,  her regrets, her grief and her fears. As she comes to terms with her diagnosis, she contemplates her need to recode mistakes made through her life and career.

What I loved about this book: I loved Sybil. She is straightforward, sometimes brash, no-nonsense, humorous at times, loving, caring, and fearful. In other words, she’s real. She expects things to continue as they always have and is frustrated with change. I loved how vulnerable she is in her letters. She truly pours her heart out at times. The book is beautifully written. I could just picture her at her desk inside her beautiful, immaculate home. 

Through the letters she sends and receives, the story of her life gets pieced together. We learn so much about her through just letters and responses. I listened to the book, which I highly recommend. There are different narrators for each letter author, so that helps keep things straight. I rarely do this, but I will also buy the hard copy of this one, as well. There are so many gems of wisdom in this book that I feel the need to have it on my bookshelf to refer to again and again. Sybil becomes more than a character in a book. She becomes a friend. 

AI Overview

Virginia Evans attended James Madison University for her bachelor’s in English literature. After starting a family, she went back to school for her master’s of philosophy in creative writing at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, where she had the good fortune to study under Carlo Gébler, Eoin McNamee, Claire Keegan, Harry Clifton and Kevin Power. She now lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with her husband, Mark, two children, Jack and Mae, and her Red Labrador, Brigid.