This is surely one of the best novels of the last few years. The Civil War story of Inman (played by Jude Law in the film) and Ada Monroe (Nicole Kidman) pulls the reader into a vivid alternative universe. The level of sensuous detail is profound. We see, hear, smell and feel Inman’s stoic journey across the South to rejoin Ada, and Ada’s struggle to adapt from a pampered city girl to a self-sufficent farm owner.

Before starting the book I was amazed. I knew it had sold more than a million copies, and when I realized it’s 450 pages of dense prose, I thought, wow, I guess there’s a mass audience for serious fiction — I had no idea. (And obviously the film drove most of those sales.) Making commercial success even more unlikely, the first five pages are slow — Frazier refuses to hurry his storytelling.

But then I became immersed in the world he creates and it became clear: Frazier is a magical writer. No wonder this book sold so well. I can’t wait for his next one.

By the way, the novel’s ending is more realistic yet also more poetic than the film’s. Hollywood created a smile-faced ending which isn’t as satisfying.