The link between the three narratives – Paul Klee’s painting Ad Marginem – is tenuous but appropriate. It is the convergence of five distinct viewpoints on the nature of love and loss that gives a unity to the whole novel. Eschewing sentimentality, Walker anchors their revelations in the details of everyday life. The letters resemble a stream of consciousness in which long paragraphs meander between memories and reflection, trying to make sense of life and keep love alive. The authentic characters evolve slowly in layered selves that have strong roots in the past.

Whether she is writing about the shenanigans of the delightful ‘notorious dog’ in Ireland or the persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany, Walker’s touch is always delicate. Influenced by W.G. Sebald, she focuses on individual lives prior to the Holocaust story to illuminate the greater tragedy and meditate on grief. There is a slow release of information, with allusions that give us just enough of the story to imagine the rest. Out of a wealth of research, Walker chooses pertinent references to bring a period or place alive: The White Album, the Fremantle Doctor, The Goon Show.

Walker’s use of the epistolary form is perfect for this ‘ordinary poetry’ that illuminates universal love. Wise and intelligent, her novel deserves to be slowly savoured.