Last year, it was pretty clear to see which novel would achieve “book of the year” status: “James” by Percival Everett was released in March of 2024 to great critical and popular acclaim, and it went on to win the Kirkus Prize, the National Book Award for Fiction and the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It also was a finalist for the Booker Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.
For 2025, that theoretical book of the year is much harder to gauge. But if you will indulge me, I’ll suggest a contender: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans.
This quiet little debut with birds on the cover was published back in April with little to no fanfare. But people read it, and loved it, and told other people about it. In September, a whole five months after its release, The Correspondent made the New York Times Bestseller list, powered by word-of-mouth rather than any initial surge in sales. And now, much like the 2018 murder mystery Where the Crawdads Sing, it’s an unqualified breakout hit, a book club darling that speaks to the wonder of storytelling and the power of human connection.
I read The Correspondent shortly after its release — or rather, I listened to the audiobook, which I highly recommend — and I immediately understood the appeal. I, too, found myself pointing it out to strangers in the bookstore and saying, “Oh! I loved that one!” I told friends about it. I recommended it in private conversations and on social media, so months later, it’s wonderful to see the author’s unexpected but solid success.
The Correspondent centers on main character Sybil Van Antwerp, a snarky but well-mannered septuagenarian who knows the power of a well-written letter. Most mornings, she sits down at her desk to write letters to friends, family members, and others in her circle, and the correspondence slowly reveals the details of her life. When a local university will not let her audit classes in English literature, she writes to the dean to make her case. When she loves a book, she writes the author to tell them so, and these include fictional letters to real-life writers like Ann Patchett, Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. There’s another person she writes to continually without ever actually mailing the letter, and that becomes a poignant surprise.
Through letters and the occasional email, we learn that Sybil was a distinguished lawyer who left private practice to clerk for a beloved colleague. We view Sybil as a mother, grandmother and divorcee who marvels at modern life but is downright grumpy about the aging process. Evans’s writing reveals Sybil’s life as a complicated, wondrous, beautiful and painful existence, and Sybil herself as a character we won’t soon forget.
Fans of Love & Saffron and 84, Charing Cross Road will find lots to love in The Correspondent, including tearful scenes and laugh-out-loud moments. And this novel has one other notable effect: When you finish, you’ll want to tell your friends about it… Maybe even write them a letter.
