Welcome to Litsy!

Such a good book. I didn‘t think I‘d enjoy a story told entirely through letters, but this one really worked. The narrator, her family, her friends, her boyfriends, all came to life in beautiful ways. And their stories, all told so very believably. Very special, highly recommend.

I cried through several of the letters that make up this book, but I have truly loved listening to it. I love each and every character and every time Sybil and her best friend Rosalie would close one of their letters with what they are reading and asking what the other is reading my heart got all squishy. Highly recommend this sweet novel.

Most of us do this, I suppose. But do you ever feel like the guilt of not reading from your TBR but continuing to add to it will suffocate you…and then you wonder what you‘re even doing in your free time that doesn‘t allow you the luxury?

#bookloverproblems

Themes: Epistolary Format, “Looking back, while still looking ahead”, Never too old to fight

This was the perfect book for my somewhat melancholy mood this past weekend. I found myself at times loving the MC (Sybil) and then other times internally shouting, “What are you doing?!” and because of this, I was committed to reading her correspondence 😆 This debut is worth all the praise and accolades it‘s receiving 🧡

This story is told entirely through letters, both from and to the central character Sybil Van Antwerp.
I think epistolary novels, at least for me, can be a slippery slope. By their nature, they are slower-paced and perhaps more introspective than the average novel. I find myself needing to be "in the mood" before starting to read one of these novels as I tend to enjoy mysteries/thrillers most often.
I will be honest; I found some of this one to ?

Such a lovely read, perfect cottage book. Sybil is such a fabulous character, and I loved getting to know her through her correspondence. The ups and downs of life, the difficulties of aging, and the power of connection 💕📫

This week has been poopy and then the news of PBS and NPR getting defunded has just been the bird poop on top of a crap sundae. A new book and a pleasant day to read outside (low 80‘s and zero humidity) is very much appreciated universe.

#WeeklyFavorite

Not much reading going on but did manage to finish 2 books since the beginning of the month. All the lovely reviews of the tagged book were spot on and I really enjoyed Death of the Author for #CampLitsy.

@Read4life

The only thing I disliked about this book is that I'm very bad at paying attention to dates, so sometimes the passage of time between letters threw me for a loop, and the fact that it omits parts of the exchange had me convinced I'd missed something.

Otherwise, I thought it did really well at evoking character through letters. Poor Sybil.

I find I've been going really slowly with this book, because it reminds me of my own correspondence with my grandmother. She never wrote back, in the last years of her life, but I miss writing to her.

Neither of us was anything like Sybil, the protagonist of this novel, but... just the importance of letters to Sybil is a lot right now.

Thanks to @BarbaraBB for recommending this book and thanks to Evans for writing it. A story told through letters is always a pleasure to read and the main character is a pleasure to meet. We meet her in her early 70‘s. We experience her frustration as her eyesight begins to fail, we root her on when several men seem interested in her, and we share her sadness as she writes of some past events. I really enjoyed this.

I just adored this beautiful book. Sybil is in her 70s and has had a full life as a lawyer, a wife, a mother, and a friend. The one defining constant throughout her life has been letters. She has written and received hundreds of letters. And now, as she enters the last years of her life, we see the fruition of those epistolary relationships as she confronts some long buried truths.

Thank you so much for the recommendation @BarbaraBB !

What a beautiful novel in letters. Sybil prefers letter writing to any other communication. She writes to friends, family, favorite authors, customer service reps, really anyone.

She‘s in her 70s and her vision is failing. The fear of that and grief over two huge losses in her life become the backbone of the story.

I cried more than once, and I laughed plenty.
Recommending!

Charming epistolary novel with a spiky central character and a lot of book chat. Thanks for putting it on my radar @BarbaraBB

I adored this book and cried at the end. I love epistolary novels because of how the reader gets to piece the story together from what is included in each letter. Sybil, the title character, lives through her letters to family, friends, authors, and people from her past. There‘s a lot of sadness in this book, be warned! But I could‘ve stayed with Sybil through many more letters.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Sybil is in het 70s and writes letters. To everyone. Through these letters we get to know her and she‘s a wonderful wonderful person. The sorrows, the joy, the books she reads, the friendships, the struggles, the past and the present. Highly recommended, my favorite of the year so far!

It reminded me of Fresh Water for Flowers. Don‘t want to be too pushy but I will tag some people who l think will love this one!

📸 Sifnos, Greece

I loved it so, so much. Gave me Olive Kitteridge vibes, but in letters. The letter from Daan to Sybil is one I hope I never forget. This book is top tier ❤️

This book is going to be in my Top Ten of the year, no doubt. The way Virginia Evans is able to relay so much to the reader using solely letters is really something. This entire book is just so special.

Wonderful!! Needed tissues at the end and that makes it a winner for me!

#ReadingRecap #MayRecap

Bingo! ✅
#BookSpin✅
#DoubleSpin✅
#Nonfiction2025✅
#SeriesLove2025✅
5⭐️✅✅ (the tagged book and Ordinary Time)

Loving this so far. All epistolary 🥰

This was wonderful.
A novel in letters.