Can you recall an epistolatory novel that was more than clumsy mechanics and unconvincing letter styles? I certainly cannot. But The Correspondent delivers on its breathless market reception by nailing a panoply of different characters and their letters. The novel centers on a grouchy seventy-year-old woman who has devoted great energy to handwritten missives throughout her life. Her letters are a delight to read (they include letters to actual famous writers such as Diana Gabaldon and Larry McMurtry), as are those from her ex-husband, the son of a friend, her best friend, a German neighbor, a Texan suitor, her Paris-based gay brother, a threatening mystery man, and so on. The author never wastes time on going over trodden ground, with the result that the years fly by through the 2010s, as our female hero comes to understand emotional gaps in her life. In the hands of such an accomplished stylist, The Correspondent assumes the tension of a gentle thriller and the final letters are a tour de force of emotional reckoning. Heartily recommended, even if (especially if) your form with this type of novel is patchy.
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