The letters sent and received by the protagonist - Sybil Van Antwerp - often refer to literature, one of her passions. In addition, Sybil is in the habit of writing to authors nearly as frequently as she writes to her brother Alex or best friend Rosalie. About halfway through this captivating novel, your favorite blogger - wearing his list making bibliophile hat - began keeping track of all the books and authors cited by Sybil and others, just in case one of you were to later wonder. The final tally? Around thirty-five. (Before you ask, yes, after beginning that list at the halfway point I did then return to the start to ensure the accuracy of the final number. Forgive me father.)
Over the fifteen+ year history of my blog, I've published more than five hundred posts about books. And though every one of those five hundred+ met my sole criteria** - i.e., this book elevated me - for more than a few, I felt it necessary to provide a caveat, about language, subject matter, density, etc. There is no caveat attached to my recommendation of The Correspondent. I'm confident this novel will appeal to almost any reader.
** Over that same period, I've never published a single post about a book that left me cold. And there have been an ample number of those.
I loved this book! I am so glad you chose it for a blog post. No more to be said. If you haven't read it, do so soon!
ReplyDeleteInes; I'm not at all surprised that you ... 1.) read this book, given how widely you read and ... 2.) that you loved it. What's not to love? Thanks for the comment.
DeletePat—can you post about a book that left you cold? Maybe it’s the contrarian in me but a negative review of a popular book is always the review I go to first, especially if it’s from a reliable source.
ReplyDeleteRegina; I decided at the outset of my blog in March 2011 that until I published my own first long form book (novel or non-fiction) that I would refrain from publicly bashing any published author's work, given I have yet to accomplish what they have. I plan to keep that practice here on my blog. However, I'm happy to share with you - offline - my opinion of any dud I've previously read or one that I finish in the future. I strongly suspect you'll regret having asked me. Because my non-bashing resolve on my blog aside, I'm quite opinionated about what I read. Given how much I read, I'm afraid duds are not an infrequent occurrence for this snob. Caveat emptor.
DeleteI loved THE CORRESPONDENT.. Such an accomplished book for a first-time author, though being an author myself, I'm guessing Evans may have a few duds in the drawer that she wrote before she knocked this one out of the park. Such a neat format. Amazing how she was able to develop characters solely through the letters.
ReplyDeleteJim; Good to see a comment from you; hope all is well. Glad to know you share my enthusiasm for "The Correspondent". And I suspect you're right about the never-published duds that preceded Evans's debut. BTW, speaking of debuts - Did you read "American Rust?" (Philip Meyer - 2001). Perhaps the strongest debut novel I've read in the last five years. I'm on the lookout for another one by Meyer; I'm sure he must have written more over the last 25 years.
DeleteJim; Whoops! Make that 2009 and change my math to "the last 16 years".
DeleteWe're fine here, Pat. I absolutely loved "American Rust," which is from the area just south of where I grew up in Pittsburgh. Meyer's subsequent novel, The Son, wasn't nearly as compelling. Interesting twist here, Rust was made into an excellent TV series developed by Dan Futterman. Dan is the SIL of my late friend Leslie Epstein, whom I am sure I mentioned to you. Dan was nominated for an Oscar for his screenplay of
DeleteCapote." Terrific young man, I'm proud to call a friend.
Jim; Thanks for follow-up on this thread. Good to know "American Rust" landed with you as it did with me. And thanks for the "twist" about Dan Futterman. I watched just one episode of "...Rust", long before reading - or even knowing about - the novel. Don't recall why I didn't continue.
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