The Correspondent

Nearly finished it, fascinating book, I make a cuppa then say to myself ... just one more letter. Loving this book.

Devastating In The Most Exquisite Way

I picked this up thinking, “Oh cute! A lovely Grandmother writing letters to her friends.” I was not prepared. The Correspondent is so much more than that. Despite the emotional wreckage it left me in (tissues at the ready for those just in case moments), the writing is simply exquisite- intelligent, precise and profoundly moving. What makes this book genius is its format. No dialogue, no narration- just correspondence. Letters and emails alone. And yet through constraint the author manages to convey six complex, layered emotions from her characters with breath taking clarity. You are peaking into someone’s entire life, through their joys, their struggles, their regrets as a working mother, purely through the written word. It is a quiet devastation and I mean that in the most highest compliment.