The influence of the sleeper hit novel 'The Correspondent'

"KELLY: I loved her. She's cranky. She's a little uptight. But who amongst us isn't occasionally... LIMBONG: Right. KELLY: ...Cranky and a little uptight. I think I loved her because, as you said, she's in her 70s. She's divorced. She's retired. She's the kind of person you might write off as, like, oh, you know, the biggest adventures in life are behind her. And she so proves you wrong, and you're totally rooting for her."

"LIMBONG: It's called "The Correspondent," and it's by Virginia Evans. I think it's fair to call this the sleeper hit of 2025. Evans is a debut novelist, and this book is about a woman in her 70s named Sybil. And you learn about her through the letters she writes. It's an epistolary novel, right? And so she's writing to her friends, to her kids, to people from her past, to complete strangers and, you know, famous writers she admires."

A 2025 sleeper-hit epistolary novel centers on Sybil, a divorced woman in her 70s whose life is revealed through letters to friends, children, past acquaintances, strangers, and admired writers. The letters build a textured portrait of a cranky, occasionally uptight but deeply human protagonist who defies assumptions that life’s major adventures are over. The narrative voice mixes humor, candor, and reflection, depicting late-life reinvention, family dynamics, and personal reckonings. The letter format creates intimacy and distinct voice, and the book’s popularity has inspired renewed interest in handwritten correspondence.

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