The Correspondent by Virginia Evans is a very sad book about Sybil, a very old and depressing woman (younger than I am, so I don’t cut her any slack) and her family, including her divorced husband, her somewhat wimpy grandson, a distant son and daughter, and their even-more-distant spouses. The book is in the rather old-fashioned format of letters exchanged between Sybil, these relatives, and a few other people from her past. Sybil had been a very accomplished lawyer, which makes her current state yet more depressing.
For reasons I don’t know, my granddaughter Alice received two copies of The Correspondent for her birthday so she left one for me. Her birthday was not at all depressing, so to cheer things up, here’s are some birthday weekend photos:
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| Alice’s birthday cake from a lovely bakery we had not tried. |
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| Evelyn and Tom (visiting from Fairfax) made crab-cakes. |
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| Sushi! |
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| Alice and Tom and dumplings and tuna sashimi. |
Wow, that’s a lot more cheerful. I don’t think I’ll bother to review the book after all.
Blog post and photos © 2026 mae sander
7 comments:
That looks like a lovely "happy" birthday and it's too bad you found the book so sad. I didn't find it sad; it was just someone going through a tough period in life and finally coming out the other side at the end. I've known too many people who had those types of experiences at different ages for different reasons. But saying that, it is great that we can all take books as we want to take them. That's the beauty of books and stories, isn't it?
A very happy birthday. That cake is gorgeous. ohhh crab cakes. I haven't had any in so many years. Sounds good. Have a great day.
That's a beautiful birthday cake, wow. Happy bday Alice! I found there was a lot of things & worries on Sybil's shoulders ... luckily some are worked out by the end.
I enjoyed The Correspondent and even though Sybil is a touch character to like, she grew on me as she progressed through the novel.
This is the first review of "The Correspondent" that I've read (and I've read plenty!) that didn't rave about the book. Makes me more curious. Meanwhile, Happy Birthday to Alice! What a special day (and fabulous cake!). All the food looks wonderful, but then you always eat well in your world! I'm glad your family was able to come.
Happy belated birthday to Alice! The cake looks delicious and I would love the Crab cakes. Take care, have a great day!
Happy birthday to the lovely and lively Alice! What a beautiful cake, too!
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