Book Review: Foreign Correspondence by Geraldine Brooks
BCID: 189-7770321 (bookring)
Title: Foreign Correspondence - A Pen Pal's Journey from Down Under to All Over
Author: Geraldine Brooks
Category: Memoir
I have been penpalling since I was 7 years old and am still in touch with my first pen pal. As a shy child growing up on a farm in South Australia, penpalling was a convenient way to make friends and learn about the world beyond my own, and over the years has taught me many things about people and the world in which we live.
This is the experience shared by Geraldine Brooks in her memoir, Foreign Correspondence. Her desire to learn more about the world through penpalling created the framework for the rest of her life, growing up to become a journalist and Foreign Correspondent.
After many years of silence, she decides to seek out the long-lost pen pals from her youth, the results of which are both unexpected and insightful. Through these people, strangers but not, she learns more about herself than she could have possibly imagined.
An interesting memoir, beautifully told.
Inspired by Geraldine Brooks' memoir and my own love for the lost art of letter writing, I am hosting a Letter Swap at my blog. If you are interested in participating, please stop by and leave a comment.