THE CORRESPONDENT

‘The Correspondent’ is a debut epistolary novel, recently long-listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2026, and a book that will hit different. So if you are looking for an alternative book club read you might enjoy this recent release (out in paperback in June!) as your Wild Card choice which relies on telling you a story through letters.

In the novel’s prologue, the narrator introduces the reader to the central character, Sybil Van Antwerp around whose life of letters we become instantly invested in as we read Sybil’s correspondence sent back and forth between Sybil and her family, friends and even close neighbours. For Sybil, now in her seventies, a retired divorcee with two grown up children, she fondly makes a ritual of writing letters and this is the best way for Sybil to make sense of the world. We learn through her letters that Sybil has had a distinguished career in law, juggling work and family and as we get the opportunity to read extracts, post scripts and correspondence that she didn’t send (holding back parts of her own narrative), we piece together her story.

There are a number of poignant threads and themes that run throughout the narrative which enable us to better understand Sybil. For example we discover she is adopted and gifted an ancestry DNA test from her son, Bruce which her legal instinct compels her to follow up. Sybil also has to confront a disgruntled criminal who has found where she lives and is seeking retribution. This presents a sense of foreboding in the novel as Sybil is forced to reflect on and deal with some of her earlier judgements as well as revisiting a family tragedy that impacts her relationships, specifically with her daughter, Fiona, her best friend, Rosalie and her sick ex-husband, Daan. These tragic discoveries and the actions made by Sybil in her letters are balanced with new love interest - from her neighbour Theodore Lübeck and Mick Watts, a retired Texan lawyer. Giving the reader hope and endearing 'meet cutes' moments.

Book clubbers will enjoy Sybil’s sharp wit and humour, observing her reluctance to use emails but still savvy enough to realise the brutality of CAPS. It was also wonderful to be reminded of our favourite authors and found a kindred spirit with Sybil’s love of literature sharing updates on her novels she is reading with her life-long friend Rosalie. Her directness is admirable - thinking nothing of contacting authors directly such as Kazuo Ishiguro and Ann Pratchett to tell them what she thinks of their latest books. No one is off limits for Sybil!

Letters for Sybil are a lasting legacy, “Remember: words, especially those written, are immortal.”

Book club reflected on the appreciation of the written word and reminded us of its power and encouraging us to put pen to paper!