Take a photo of a barcode or cover
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Infertility, Terminal illness, Stalking
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An epistolary novel. This was the exact book I was looking for this summer. Something well written that I could escape into, pick up easily, and WANT to pick up. I love Sybil Van Antwerp! There is a part of her (not the curmudgeon) that reminds me of my mother; the sharing of information that isn’t pertinent to the conversation, eg., with Basam, the customer service representative at Kindred. Warmed my heart. I loved the bookish part of the story, too. Sybil makes me want to put pen to paper with all of those mental letters I have written! Truly a delight!
Sybil is a flawed, complicated person and we are with her in her last stage of life working through some of her issues. “Grief shared, I think can produce two outcomes. Either you bind yourselves together and hold on for dear life or you let go and up goes a wall too high to be crossed.” We are with Sybil when she begins to break down some of those walls.
Sybil’s son, Bruce, was not really flushed out as a character and her daughter, Fiona, was a bit more developed, but not enough and I think that is a weakness in the story.
SPOILER
I have another issue and that is the last time we hear from Sybil is February 2020 and she is in Scotland. Covid truly was such a big impact on our society, on the world, and in Europe they were already dealing with Covid at that point because by March 2020, we started to close things down. SPOILER! SPOILER! The next letter is November 2021 from Theodore telling Hattie that Sybil has died. I realize that at the end of the story bringing up Covid and all it’s complications would’ve been too much, but ignoring it is a glaring omission.
Sybil is a flawed, complicated person and we are with her in her last stage of life working through some of her issues. “Grief shared, I think can produce two outcomes. Either you bind yourselves together and hold on for dear life or you let go and up goes a wall too high to be crossed.” We are with Sybil when she begins to break down some of those walls.
Sybil’s son, Bruce, was not really flushed out as a character and her daughter, Fiona, was a bit more developed, but not enough and I think that is a weakness in the story.
SPOILER
I have another issue and that is the last time we hear from Sybil is February 2020 and she is in Scotland. Covid truly was such a big impact on our society, on the world, and in Europe they were already dealing with Covid at that point because by March 2020, we started to close things down. SPOILER! SPOILER! The next letter is November 2021 from Theodore telling Hattie that Sybil has died. I realize that at the end of the story bringing up Covid and all it’s complications would’ve been too much, but ignoring it is a glaring omission.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Epistolary novel, book about books, utterly charming characters, why am I crying?
"Grief shared, I think, can produce two outcomes. Either you bind yourselves together and hold on for dear life, or you let go and up goes a wall too high to be crossed."
"Grief shared, I think, can produce two outcomes. Either you bind yourselves together and hold on for dear life, or you let go and up goes a wall too high to be crossed."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Grief
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Infertility
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love a good epistolary novel so when I started to hear buzz about Virginia Evan's debut novel "The Correspondent" early this summer I immediately went to my local bookstore and ordered a copy. I was not disappointed. From the first page I was immersed in the intriguing world of Sybil Van Antwerp. Such an intelligent, opinionated, complicated woman. Her correspondence - with lifelong friends, with family, with various authors, with customer service representatives, with the gifted but troubled son of a co-worker, and more all brought rich depth and focus to her full but flawed life. There is an intimacy in correspondence. This is a very intimate book. Sybil doesn't reveal her true self easily, but in the decade covered by the correspondence in this book, she finally succeeds in revealing and letting go of much of what had burdened and inhibited her throughout her life. We see her final decade as a time of coming to terms with the ghosts of her past, and an opening up to the gifts of the present.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Grief
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Suicide attempt
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Grief
Minor: Cancer, Infertility
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Medical content, Grief
Moderate: Death, Death of parent
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I found it difficult to like this book. The first half moved so incredibly slow and I just could not bring myself to find redeemable qualities in the main character. With so much sadness threading throughout the book, this book was not enjoyable for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death