"Dazzling and gorgeously written, Frances and Bernardfeatures a pair of brilliant, complicated writers who present themselves to each other in letters that form the most exciting epistolary novel in recent memory. A slim book, it still seems to say all of the important things about friendship, faith, love, the literary life, and especially the costs of living as an artist while still inhabiting the real world. It's a marvel." Ann Packer, author of The Dive from Clausen's Pierand Songs Without Words