BOOK REVIEW
The Correspondent
AUTHOR: Virginia Evans
This is a story about an elderly lady, Sybil Van Antwerp, who introduces us to her life, both past and present, through letters. She has been prompted to do this after she receives a letter from someone from her past which forces her to look back on past mistakes and ‘to put things right’.
Sybil is now 73, is slowly losing her sight, and has had a very rewarding career as a lawyer. She is intelligent and feisty.
Every morning she sits down at her desk with her Irish breakfast tea (with milk) and begins to write. Decades unfold as she corresponds with those from her past and present.
The recipients of her letters range from her brother, her sister-in-law, her best friend, the president of a university, and her favourite authors (where she tells them what she thinks of their latest books).
The letters combine to tell a story of humour, wit, apology and self-awareness, and expand into a deeply felt narrative. They allow Sybil to mask her vulnerabilities while forcing her to reckon with he tragic loss of her young son.
It is a gem of a book and Virginia Evans is to be congratulated on winning a Female Writers Fiction prize for this outstanding work.
Rosalie Howarth
AUTHOR: Virginia Evans
This is a story about an elderly lady, Sybil Van Antwerp, who introduces us to her life, both past and present, through letters. She has been prompted to do this after she receives a letter from someone from her past which forces her to look back on past mistakes and ‘to put things right’.
Sybil is now 73, is slowly losing her sight, and has had a very rewarding career as a lawyer. She is intelligent and feisty.
Every morning she sits down at her desk with her Irish breakfast tea (with milk) and begins to write. Decades unfold as she corresponds with those from her past and present.
The recipients of her letters range from her brother, her sister-in-law, her best friend, the president of a university, and her favourite authors (where she tells them what she thinks of their latest books).
The letters combine to tell a story of humour, wit, apology and self-awareness, and expand into a deeply felt narrative. They allow Sybil to mask her vulnerabilities while forcing her to reckon with he tragic loss of her young son.
It is a gem of a book and Virginia Evans is to be congratulated on winning a Female Writers Fiction prize for this outstanding work.
Rosalie Howarth
