WeHa Book Club

*Spoiler Free Review*

This book was described to me, by several people, in a very specific way. They essentially said “I didn’t think I would like this, but it’s actually really great.” This was wonderfully informative for me because I fully expected to love this book and was encouraged to hear that people outside of the target demographic were also struck by it.

I’m not sure how I stumbled upon this little niche, but for whatever reason, I am completely enthralled by books about the lives of witty, elderly protagonist. Take the Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman or pretty much any book by Elizabeth Strout, for example. I can’t get enough of this genre.

So, when I heard that the narrative explores “reflections on aging, personal regrets, and the complexities of relationships with family, friends, and colleagues, I immediately threw it onto my must-read list. Maybe that makes me the weirdo, I don’t know and I don’t care haha.

I’ll be honest, my first impression was similar to my feelings about God of the Woods, which won the 2025 book of the year at our local library and was a very B+ book for me. I feel like there is an unfortunate bias when you are well-versed in a genre that other people are dipping their toe into for the first time.

With GotW, I felt that – while good – it didn’t stand out from so many other mystery, crime-thriller novels I’ve read in the past. Similarly, I’d imagine that avid readers of the LitRPG genre aren’t as blown away by the Dungeon Crawler Carl series as I’ve been so far. It just comes with extensive experience in a particular space, I suppose.

So when I began this ‘old woman reflecting on life’ book, I felt like I had already read so many similar books that it didn’t grip me the way it seemed to grip so many others.

But boy, was I in for a surprise. This was an absolute A+. Heartfelt, funny, full of ‘sage advice’? Sure, it had all that. But the character development and deeply moving moments – both devastating and uplifting – were second to none.

My understanding is that Virigina Evans kind of came out of nowhere. This is the first novel I’ve read by her, and according to goodreads, this is only her second novel ever. She had a 2015 release, entitled Within the Walled City, that is unfortunately near-impossible to find. Maybe it’ll get a second run now that The Correspondent has blown up. As of now, it’s even out of print at Amazon.

Anyway, I would love to give you a list of my favorite characters, but I fear that will be a spoiler in-and-of-itself. Just read this. Please read this. My third 5-star book of the year after Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Project Hail Mary. Beautiful (and very quick) story.

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“The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans