This book does not receive a great deal of media attention in comparison to Brook's other works. It is truly underrated!!

I discovered it to be both enjoyable and thought-provoking, with depth and entertainment value. As a woman who has resided on four different continents (myself!), it indeed possesses a unique "worldly flavor" as Brooks astutely delves into other cultures.

I absolutely adore it when I come across a hidden treasure like this! I highly recommend it to others.

It offers a refreshing perspective and a rich exploration of diverse cultures, making it a captivating read. Whether you are interested in learning about different ways of life or simply seeking an engaging book, this one is definitely worth checking out.

Don't let its lack of mainstream publicity deter you; give it a chance and you may be pleasantly surprised.

I have a profound affection for Geraldine Brooks's historical fiction. After delving into all four of her fictional works, I found myself increasingly intrigued by her background as a foreign correspondent. This nonfiction piece skillfully combines snippets of information about her career with biographical details and the stories of her international pen pals.

She artfully captured the essence of growing up in 1960s and 1970s Australia and how it influenced her intellectual and political growth. It offered valuable context for her accounts of the pen pal letters.

The second part of the book, where Brooks actually embarks on a journey to meet her pen pals many years later as an adult, is particularly captivating. After all, how many individuals have had childhood pen pals only to lose touch? I can vividly remember a couple of my own pen pals – one from my high school French class and another from my college Russian course. The idea of actually tracking them down years later (even before the era of Facebook and iPhones) was truly fascinating to me. It could have easily turned out disastrously. Instead, Brooks's tales of meeting her pen pals were all deeply interesting and touching. And in the case of her American pen pal Joannie, it was utterly tragic.

Joannie had passed away due to causes related to an eating disorder before Brooks could ever meet her in person. Brooks, however, reached out to Joannie's mother Elizabeth and developed a friendship with her.

As a long-time pen-pal, I was truly excited for this one.

The storyline, however, was a bit scattershot. It vacillated between the current and the past, with a rather strange tie-in to her father's illness and references to his pen-pals that didn't quite jive. When, at the end, the truth all came out, it seemed that her father's illness was the catalyst for her seeking the past, as she found old letters in the basement.

I have to admit that it seems far-fetched that this one girl from working-class Sydney would herself become a renowned journalist and author, married to the same, and also befriend someone who would in turn find fame. These things don't happen to awkward 15-year-old girls! I should know! I remember seeking out pen-pals at the same age, and I certainly don't have a story nearly as fantastic. I lucked out and have had a 20+-year pen-friendship with a fantastic soul rather than several short-lived ones.

The story was a lot more about the journalist than the pen-pal, but it was really interesting that she eventually lived a life that allowed her to seek out these voices from her past, and to come full circle and see how their lives differed from her imaginations and wishes for them. It makes one wonder about the power of memory and the unexpected turns that life can take.

Overall, while the story had its flaws, it still managed to engage and make me reflect on my own pen-pal experiences and the role they have played in shaping my life.

When you embark on reading a book penned by Geraldine Brooks, you immediately sense that you are in the capable hands of a literary maestro. In "Foreign Correspondence", she presents not just a run-of-the-mill memoir but adds a fascinating twist by delving into her childhood penpals.

Most memoirs that attempt such a deviation often come across as contrived, but Ms. Brooks' work stands apart. This is largely due to the profound significance her pen pals held during her formative years.

Growing up in the staid suburbs of Sydney, Geraldine felt constricted, confined, and unfulfilled. Despite being surrounded by immigrants and refugees, a fact she only fully grasped as an adult in hindsight, she perceived her upbringing as conservative, insular, and uninteresting. Additionally, leaving the country was almost an unspoken expectation in that era. Australia, being so geographically distant from the rest of the world and thus lagging behind, saw all its young people depart, at least for a while, typically after college. Geraldine was particularly eager to set out on her own adventure. When she was still too young to travel, she sought foreign penpals to introduce her to the outside world. She began with a girl on the other side of Sydney (which seemed quite foreign to Geraldine), and then expanded her circle to include an American, a French girl, and two boys from Palestine and Israel, a Christian Arab, and a Jew.

As she matured, Geraldine herself embarked on extensive travels as a foreign correspondent. She married an American Jew, eventually settled in Virginia, and traversed the globe, reporting from war-torn regions and bringing crucial news stories to the public. And during her travels, she had the opportunity to reconnect with her former penpals. She was especially inspired by her relationship with Joannie, the American, who had endured a difficult life yet remained perpetually optimistic. Geraldine felt a pang of guilt when her own life flourished while Joannie grappled with mental health issues and yet fought tenaciously to overcome them. Joannie had been Geraldine's closest friend for a decade, and when Geraldine was accepted into Columbia University's journalism school in New York, she eagerly anticipated finally meeting Joannie in person.

I had initially harbored concerns that this book would be solely focused on the penpals, but it predominantly delved into the experience of growing up Australian. And it wasn't the Australia of kangaroos and koalas that the rest of the world typically envisions - it was an Australia that was a touch behind the times, a bit naïve, and yet undergoing significant changes as it distanced itself from England's influence and endeavored to carve its own unique path. It's fascinating to witness another country's intense interest in America's presidential elections, and Geraldine's father played a significant role in shaping her international perspective with his Zionism and his own travels (as an American, he had been a big-band singer in the 1930s).

Her writing is of such exceptional quality that you scarcely notice it. It flows seamlessly, is precise, and exudes eloquence. I deeply admire her command of language and her ability to let her writing quietly enhance the narrative without being ostentatious or flamboyant. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and firmly believe that anyone would find it truly captivating.

Great book.

I don't always enjoy memoirs, as they can sometimes seem self-indulgent or lacking in the kind of narrative drive that I look for in a good story. However, I have liked Geraldine Brooks as a writer for many years. Her novels are always beautifully written, with richly drawn characters and detailed descriptions of the settings in which her stories take place.

When I saw that she had written a memoir, I thought it might be a nice read. And it was. I liked getting to know her better as a person, and learning about her life experiences and the events that had shaped her as a writer.

One of the things that I particularly enjoyed about this memoir was the way in which Brooks wrote with the usual attention to detail that she does with her fiction writing. The descriptions of the places she visited to get in touch with her now adult pen pals were so vivid that I felt as though I was traveling with her. In particular, her descriptions of Israel made me feel as though I was right there, experiencing the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the country.

Having been to Israel myself, I could really relate to her experiences and understand the emotions that she was feeling. Overall, I would highly recommend this memoir to anyone who is a fan of Geraldine Brooks' writing, or who is interested in learning more about the power of human connection and the importance of following one's dreams.

I have a deep admiration for Geraldine Brooks as an author. Her memoir, which details her upbringing in Australia, her relationships with her family, and her pen pals, was an absolute delight to read.

It was a relatively quick read, yet it managed to hold my interest throughout. What I found truly fascinating was that I had been reading her works for years without knowing much about her personal life.

Discovering this memoir was like uncovering a hidden treasure. It provided a unique insight into her journey, from her early years in Australia to her later life as a renowned author.

Through her words, I was able to gain a better understanding of the person behind the books. I highly recommend this memoir to anyone who enjoys reading about the lives of authors or is interested in Australian culture.

When I was a teenager, I had penfriends from different parts of the world. I had two in France, one in New Zealand, and one in South Africa. My sister also had a penfriend in one of the new black South African homelands. I truly relished writing and receiving long letters back then. However, in today's digital age, things have changed. Now, I only write one long letter a year, which I send to all our friends and family during Christmas. It's quite disheartening that most people only send us an impersonal Christmas card. Besides that, I keep in touch through Facebook, which is another good way to share our news. But still, it doesn't have the same charm as a real letter in a real envelope with attractive stamps.

I never had as close a relationship with any of my penfriends as Geraldine Brooks had with Joannie. Their connection developed in a certain way because they were both shy, lonely, and intense youngsters who were obsessed with the same things and had the same idealistic view of the world. Joannie's story was tragic and deeply touching for me. One of my sister's childhood friends, who was also the sister of one of my best friends, suffered from the same disease when she went to university. I can understand Geraldine's feeling of living in a different world from Joannie. My New Zealand penfriend, who started off as an enthusiastic girl, left the schoolgirl world long before me. She went to live with her boyfriend in a mobile home and later got married, and at that point, we lost contact. I do sometimes wonder what she is doing now, but I don't think I would go to the extent of trying to find her in real life.

Just like Geraldine, I also had some penfriends with whom our correspondence didn't really click. I had a much shorter and less interesting exchange with one of my French penfriends, and I can remember very little about her. However, I still write (at Christmas) to my other French penfriend. We have a joint family history. Her grandparents sheltered my grandfather and his friend during WWII when they were cut off from their regiment. We visited each other every summer in our teens, and she came with her mother and sister to my wedding.

Coming back to the book, Geraldine Brooks writes extremely well. I found the description of the differences between an American and Australian childhood and teenage years very moving. I also enjoyed the stories of how she went in search of her other penfriends. Especially the tale of how she found her penfriend in Nazareth when the lady at the tourist information office asked the local taxi drivers, as they knew every family! I was also surprised to learn that there are Christian Arabs, as I had previously assumed that all Arabs are Muslim (obviously not having thought about it too deeply).

I'd already devoured all of Brooks' novels when I got to this one.

To my great disappointment, it was a jumbled mix of memories.

It seemed as if she had written down her memories on notecards, then randomly tossed them in the air and simply wrote them down in the order she picked them up.

This haphazard approach made the reading experience rather disjointed and confusing.

There was no clear narrative arc or flow to the story.

It jumped from one memory to another without any real connection or transition.

As a result, I found it difficult to engage with the book and lost interest quite quickly.

I had expected more from Brooks, especially after enjoying her previous works so much.

However, this particular novel failed to meet my expectations and left me feeling rather let down.

It took me a while to truly engage with this book. At first, it seemed like just another account of early life with parents, my own parents to be specific. In that regard, it paled in comparison to the richness of Poppy.

However, once Brooks began writing about penfriends, especially her adult journeys to meet those with whom she had corresponded as a child and teenager, the book really took off for me. It became lively and astute, filled with interesting people and keen observations on Australia, France, Israel, and the US.

I would rate it 3.5.

Update, August 2016

Last Saturday, there was a book club discussion. Most members enjoyed the first sections about her family. There was much speculation about the support each family member provided in their unique ways, the effects on children when parents behave very differently in different situations (like the father who came home drunk twice a week and had to be avoided on those evenings), and also about the gaps in the story, things that were left unexplained and in the background. Everyone really enjoyed the second part of the book where she visits those pen friends, so carefully chosen many years ago.

This book club discussion added another layer of depth to my understanding and appreciation of the book.

A wonderful autobiography from one of my favorite authors.

Brooks takes us on a captivating journey as she tells her story through her deep delight in collecting and writing to her pen pals. Growing up in what she perceives as a dull backwater in suburban Sydney, this becomes her unique way of learning about the vast and exciting world beyond.

Later in life, armed with her skills as a journalist, she uses her platform to embark on a remarkable quest to track down those very individuals who, as teenagers, opened her eyes to new perspectives and possibilities.

As I read her account, I can't help but mourn the loss of real letter writing and receiving in my own life. There's something truly special about the anticipation of a handwritten letter arriving in the mail, the personal touch, and the connection it creates. Brooks' story serves as a poignant reminder of a bygone era when communication was more intimate and meaningful.

It makes me long for the days when we took the time to carefully pen our thoughts and feelings, knowing that they would be received and cherished by someone far away.

I truly had a great fondness for "Year of Wonders" and thus held high expectations for this particular book. One would assume that a book with the title "Foreign Correspondence: A Pen Pal's Journey from Down Under to All Over" would be predominantly focused on penpalling. Regrettably, penpalling merely serves as a minor aspect in the author's recollections of her parents, her childhood and teenage years in an unremarkable Sydney neighborhood, and ultimately her travels as a journalist.

The first part of the book was especially disappointing. In fact, I essentially skimmed through most of the pages. The descriptions of her correspondences were extremely brief and lacked depth. It would have been truly wonderful to read more extracts from the letters! With the exception of Joannie, all of the author's other penpals seemed to vanish into thin air immediately after the initial introduction. I constantly found myself wondering, "WHERE on earth are those amazing penpalling stories that I have been eagerly anticipating?"

I did enjoy the second part to a greater extent, yet it was nothing extraordinary either. Taking all of this into account, I rate this book 2.5 stars.

Great Writer

When I purchased this book, it didn't immediately dawn on me that it was a biography. Merely because it was written by Geraldine Brooks, I simply bought it. Little did I know that it would turn out to be a most astonishing and delightful biography. I'm extremely glad to have read it. This story has reaffirmed just how much pleasure this talented and intelligent writer appears to bestow upon me. Geraldine Brooks has this remarkable ability to bring a subject to life through her words.

If you have a penchant for biographies, then this offers a charming perspective on the life of a highly talented author. It delves into the various aspects of her life, her experiences, and the events that shaped her into the writer she is today. It's a captivating read that keeps you engaged from start to finish. I highly recommend it to anyone who appreciates good literature and wants to gain an insight into the life of a great writer like Geraldine Brooks.