Welcome to the Debut Author Book Club, a collaboration between Palmyra Public Library and Book Bar. For February, the selected book is The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (book description is located at the bottom of this listing).
So come out, grab a drink at Book Bar's beverage bar, and join us for a lively book discussion! When you purchase this book club pick from Book Bar or borrow it from the Palmyra Public Library, your support will help us be here for a long time and put on more events!
Purchasing options from Book Bar are below:
In Store: Stop by our location at 50 N. Railroad St. in Palmyra, PA!
Shipped: To purchase from Bookshop and get it delivered straight to your door, order from the following link (If you purchase here, we will receive a percentage of this sale):
https://bookshop.org/a/98905/9780593798430
Ebook: Bookshop now offers Ebooks for indie booksellers. Find it here (we will receive a percentage of this sale): https://bookshop.org/a/98905/9780593798447
Audiobook: You can purchase audiobooks from us on Libro.fm. This audiobook can be easily found on our Feb 2026 Book Club Picks playlist here (we will receive a percentage of this sale):
https://libro.fm/playlists/11140?bookstore=bookbarus
We look forward to seeing you!
Book Description:
Filled with knowledge that only comes from a life fully lived, The Correspondent is a gem of a novel about the power of finding solace in literature and connection with people we might never meet in person. It is about the hubris of youth and the wisdom of old age, and the mistakes and acts of kindness that occur during a lifetime.
Sybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.
Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has—a mother, grandmother, wife, divorcee, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a very full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes that the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.
Sybil Van Antwerp’s life of letters might be “a very small thing,” but she also might be one of the most memorable characters you will ever read.