Thread:Godzillafan93/@comment-25827868-20150207142439/@comment-397235-20150207221654

The novel was published in English as an ebook, I believe either last year or the year before. It got a hardback release on October 28th, 2014. I bought the ebook the same place I bought the manga, from Amazon.com; not having an ereader I finally decided to buy the hardback, which I picked up from Barnes and Noble about a month ago and devoured. The ebook, I believe, is a bit cheaper, but unless you have a tablet or smart phone you'll only be able to read it on your computer, which I didn't want to do.

As for which adaption is closest, it's a toss up.

The live action film portrays Izumi the most like she is in the novel, but Mei is the least like herself. It's also probably the weakest adaption itself.

The manga follows the plot fairly closely, differing only that Izumi is given a much larger role and there are no murders at the Inn; Izumi inadvertently burns it down trying to kill Mei. It has, by far, the happiest ending of any of them.

The anime gets most of the characters correct compared to the novel, but several characters are given expanded roles (Takako and Yumi probably being the most exceptional; Tomohiko is probably the most marginalized).

It's like any adaption; there's not been a 100% faithful version since the novel itself.