Book Review: The Correspondent

 

The conceit of thia novel is that it consists of a collection of letters written by and to the main character during the last decade (or so) of her life.  Sybil prefers handwritten letters, something she reveres as a dying art, but some emails are included. The email address for this woman in her seventies ends with "aol.com", which I found very amusing as someone with an aol account. So old fashioned! 

The story end up being quite sprawling since it includes best friends, neighbors, customer service representatives, gentleman suitors, the ex-husband, daughter, stalker, autistic teenage boy, and an unnamed person she writes letters to that remain unsent.

The story was interesting but I didn't find Sybil particularly relatable. Perhaps that's because she's a wealthy, retired, divorced woman who struggles to have close relationships with her adult children or, really, anyone else. She makes progress in this area, but part of my problem might also be with the limitation of the form. Letter writing is more like reportage than a novel. It keeps the reader at arm's length, never giving the immediacy of a scene. 

Book Review: More Than Enough

 

I know I've read books by Anna Quindlen before, but this one was so good it makes me want to add all of her books to my wish list.

This is a first person narration with an imperfect, likable main character. There are several different plot points that are developed, a mystery, a challenge, a friend struggling with illness. All these threads get balanced attention and resolution.

The dialogue is particularly good and contributes to the feeling that you're reading about real people. I was kind of bummed when the book was over. Highly recommend.

Book Review: Life: A Love Story

 

Elizabeth Berg is prolific. I've liked many of her books, some not so much. This one is somewhere in between. It's a good story with an interesting, likable main character- an elderly woman looking back over her life at the end of it. Berg does the voice performance herself and it was a pleasant, enjoyable listen.

Nothing very remarkable happens, but the main character reveals some of the hidden struggles in her otherwise happy marriage. The narrative goes back and forth between first person narration of her goodbye letter to a friend and third person narration of her final days when she makes a new friend who encourages her to do some of the things on her bucket list.

Although it is ultimately a book about dying, Flo is in her nineties and is expressing her deep appreciation for the full life she lived.