The novel's characters are so vivid they seem ready to step off the page.
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From Su Shi's 《郭忠恕画赞序》: 恕先在焉，呼之或出 - of a painter's portrait so lifelike that calling the subject's name might just summon him out of the image. The idiom preserves that marvel at realism beyond realism.
usage
Two main senses: (1) describing art or writing so vivid the subject seems real, and (2) a truth, answer, or identity that's almost - but not quite - revealed. The second sense is now more common in news and crime reporting.
