Such a warm-hearted and heart-warming novel about a disparate group of friends who become more than a family over the decades, a thoroughly engaging tale of love, loss, longing and missed opportunities. Pitch perfect storytelling, insightful and compassionate, a really lovely read. So many reviews out there, so I’ll say no more.

Still Life certainly has some good elements but these sadly do not really come together. While the characters are truly lovable, and one could truly empathise with them, but the overall narrative felt sprawling, rambly. The author does demonstrate a certain knowledge about Italy, and the few Italians characters are not stereotyped. I warmed to this novel, but I did not love it. It had a Kate Atkinson vibe but it lacked its magic. Ultimately this was less than the sum of its parts.

I do not think I have read such an enjoyable book in a very long time! There is something so attractive about a book that has such wonderful feeling of place, wry humour and a liberal smattering of loss, love thwarted, misdirected and reciprocated... not to mention, art, food ,music and a rather splendidly bedraggled Parrot.

This is a wartime/Post-War saga with a shedload of heart without a modicum of the usual saccharine sweetness. There are no tropes here and a gloriously diverse “cast” of characters makes for a wonderfully complex but funny story that stays with you even after we say goodbye after a cyclical journey of discovery for all.

I really enjoyed this book. Set in Italy 1944, London and back to Italy until again, it tells the stories of Evelyn, Ulysses and their circle of friends and family. I loved the characters of Ulysses and Peg (his on off girlfriend), the descriptions of Italy and post war time London and the unique aspects such as the talking trees and parrot! I wasn’t so gripped by Evelyn’s story; I didn’t feel I needed her ending but I didn’t want some of the other characters’ stories to end! Highly recommended.

I picked up Sarah Winman’s new novel, Still Life, with vague memories of enjoying one of her earlier books, When God Was a Rabbit. That was ten years ago and although she has had two other books published since then, I never got round to reading either of them. The pretty cover of Still Life caught my eye and the Italian setting sounded appealing, so I thought I would give this one a try.

The novel opens in wartime Tuscany in 1944 with a chance meeting between two very different people: Evelyn Skinner, almost sixty-four years old, is an art historian who has come to Italy to try to salvage important works of art; Ulysses Temper is a young British soldier, formerly a globe-maker from London. As the Allies advance across Italy, a brief friendship forms between Evelyn and Ulysses before they are parted and return to their separate lives.

For most of the novel, we follow Ulysses and his friends, first back at home in London and later in Florence, where some of them decide to relocate after the war. There’s Ulysses’ ex-wife, the talented but troubled Peg and her young daughter, Alys; Col who runs the Stoat and Parrot pub and Pete the pianist; Old Cress, who talks to trees and has visions which have a habit of coming true; and a Shakespeare-quoting blue parrot called Claude. It took me a while to warm to these characters, but eventually I became quite fond of some of them, particularly Cress and Alys. None of them are perfect – they all have their flaws and all make mistakes – but they feel like real and believable human beings.

Evelyn, though, appears only occasionally after that opening scene and we have to wait almost until the end of the novel to hear her story – by which time I found I’d lost interest in her and would have preferred to continue reading about Ulysses and the others. Evelyn’s story, which should have been fascinating as it involved a meeting with EM Forster and a pre-war romance with an Italian maid, felt as if it had been squeezed into the end of the book as an afterthought and in my opinion would have worked better if it had unfolded gradually alongside the other storylines.

The novel is beautifully written, there are some lovely descriptions of Florence and the influence of Forster’s A Room With a View can be seen in several different ways throughout the story. With a timespan of several decades, Winman also writes about various historical events that take place during that period; for example, there’s a memorable section set during the devastating flood of the Arno river in 1966. Unfortunately, there was one thing I really disliked about Winman’s writing in this book – and that was the lack of speech marks. I’m never sure what authors are trying to achieve in leaving out basic punctuation. A more ‘literary’ style? A stream of consciousness feel? Whatever it is, it never works for me and I end up just finding it distracting and annoying.

Still Life wasn’t completely successful with me, then, but I did enjoy getting to know the characters and spending some time in Italy in virtual form, which is the closest I will get to a holiday abroad this year!

Without a doubt my favourite book so far in 2021. A perfect read for a staycation summer as by the end you feel like you’ve been immersed in the glories of Florence. The characters have lingered in my mind since I finished which is surely the sign of all the best books. I’ve already recommended this to anyone who will listen!

Another great read from Sarah Winman. A top seller and top recommended author in our store. This was another excellent fiction novel and definitely worth checking out.

Still Life is a charming and warming historical novel set in Italy that stretches over four decades. Sarah Winman's writing is lovely and here she conjures up some adorably quirky characters putting them in a Florentine piazza. There are talking trees and birds (Claude, a blue Amazonian, Shakespeare quoting parrot), and the Italy the author portrays is one I love to imagine; I was delighted to visit it in this tale. If you’re in the mood for some tension and distraction and something to make you feel gratified then this is the book for you. I'm sure it will prove to be a marvellous treat for many readers.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Fourth Estate via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

I was sent a copy of Still Life by Sarah Winman to read and review by NetGalley. What a magnificent book! I cannot praise this novel highly enough. So beautifully written, almost poetic. I was invested in the incredibly well drawn characters from the start and I grew to love them all even more as time went on. Set between Florence and London and beginning during the second world war, this novel is about friendship, life and above all love. I don’t want to go into the story itself, suffice to say it is imbued with feeling, humour and hope – with a smattering of art and literature to boot. I really didn’t want it to end! This is the book I want to buy all my friends! Take some time out and enjoy!

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
If a book could give you a hug, then this would be it. It’s definitely a feel good book, although it did have me in tears too. Still Life is absolutely gorgeous and I was completely swept up in the story of Evelyn and Ulysses, two strangers who meet one evening in a Tuscan villa in 1944 and take us on an moving journey. I’m not a huge fan of historical fiction and at almost 500 pages the story really needed to keep my attention and interest, which it did easily! This book is beautifully written. It’s a story about love, fate and friendships. Its very funny in parts, but also as I mentioned it reduced me to tears too. By the time the book was finished I felt like Evelyn and Ulysses were good friends of mine, and not forgetting Claude the parrot too. I highly recommend this book if you are a Sarah Winman fan and if you enjoy historical fiction.

Still Life, by Sarah Winman is an incredibly difficult book to review. I have no idea how I can even do it justice, and, it is one of those books where you need to go in knowing as little as possible. I don’t want to ruin your first read of this quite beautiful book, you need to fall in love with it for yourself so I’ll try and keep details as scant possible and as ever there won’t be any spoilers!

I’ve been hearing nothing but great things about Still Life by Sarah Winman with reviewers I admire writing about how beautiful it is. I adored Winman’s previous novel, Tin Man and couldn’t wait to get stuck in to this hoping it was as good as everybody was saying it was. You know what? It was better. It ricocheted straight into my Top 10 Books Ever list and even though I was lucky enough to be reading an advanced ecopy, I ended up buying the hardback when I wasn’t even halfway through.

It’s about two quite wonderful people, Ulysses Temper and Evelyn Skinner. They meet in Italy as the Allieds advance on Italy during World War 2. He is a young British soldier and she is an aging art expert who is rescuing paintings from the destruction of the war. They spend an evening with Ulysses’ superior, Captain Darnley, drinking very good red wine, talking about, art, life, love and everything in between. Ulysses tells Evelyn about his wife back home, Peg, about his life and she talks about the beauty of art. They form a bond, the sort of bond that comes along very rarely indeed. They say goodbye to one another, each hoping that the other will make it out alive and both feeling changed by their meeting.

This is a glorious book which spans four decades and two countries. It is vividly written with the fog of the London streets leaping from the page whilst the descriptions of Florence, its architecture, art and food made me want to visit immediately. Winman has a real knack for creating a sense of place and time that there were moments when I’d emerge from reading, confused as to why I was sitting in my living room in the North East and wasn’t in a piazza eating pasta and drinking wine.

At its heart though, this character driven novel is about what it means to be human. Ulysses is surrounded by people who love him dearly, Col who is the landlord of the pub Ulysses works in after the war, Cressy, a friend of Ulysses’ father, Pete, the piano player in the pub, Peg and Claude, the pub parrot (yes, you read that correctly!). They are each other’s chosen family, spiralling in and out of each other’s lives as the decades pass but always finding their way back to one another. Fiercely loyal, loving and protective of each other this group of people are an absolute joy to read about. I can’t quite believe that they aren’t real.

The writing is poetic without being bloated and there are wonderful turns of phrases and wry humour which made me smile on more than one occasion. Some passages are so beautiful that they deserved an immediate re-read with evocative descriptions hitting me right in the heart. For example, the “every stain and every oil splash” on the pages of a well-used cookbook are said to be “the equivalent of footprints along a shore” which I thought was just gorgeous.

Still Life by Sarah Winman has ricocheted straight into my Top 10 Books Ever list. It is extraordinarily good and is one of those books where you want to gobble it up but try desperately to eke it out. If you are yet to read it I am incredibly jealous that you get to do so for the first time, you lucky thing, you have such joy ahead of you.

I started at bedtime, sort of "let's see how it is", and stopped reading very late in the night.
It was the style of writing, the excellent storytelling and the great characters.
I was enthralled and in love with this story and how it was written.
I loved the descriptions of Florence and I found this story enthralling and gripping.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

An absolutely beautifully written book, long but with fascinating characters. The Allied war effort in Italy moves towards Florence and an aged art historian is trying to keep things away form the Nazis.

But that is just the bare bones of the book as the joy to the reader are the characters and their dialogue.

I would have liked to curl up in front of a fire with cold winds outside and thus escape in to Ms Winman';s prose - but ended up on a sunbed in the garden!

Thanks to Net Galley and 4th, Fourth Estate for the chance to read and review this book.

This was eagerly anticipated and my only regret is that I wasn’t in a leisurely pace enough to read it in enough absorption. I did, nevertheless, enjoy reading this very much. Not a lot happens in terms of massive plots but it is a book of gentle life events, love, death, war, drinking, hospitality, art and travel. If you’re a fan or EM Forster, there is much to enjoy here, including some gentle mockery, but the book is a further homage to Florence and to love above all things.

I loved Ulysses, the main character, a gentle globe maker who, as a soldier, formed deep connections with his commanding officer and with an art historian, Evelyn, who he meets. The band of characters who join the cast are sweet, funny, and a joy to spend time with.
On the whole, I loved this book very much. Absorbing and funny.

A beautiful joyous book, this left a lovely feeling in my heart. All about Ulysses an ex soldier who befriends and older lady, and his life completely changes. A brilliant read that just felt special.

Still Life is gorgeous and felt like a massive hug!!! I was swept up in the story of Evelyn and Ulysses, two strangers who meet one evening in a Tuscan villa in 1944 and take us on an moving journey. I love historical fiction and this story kept my attention and interest, and that’s not easy at nearly 500 pages! I love the way the book travelled through the years from Florence to the East End, and it’s just beautifully written. It’s so descriptive (from the food, to the wine, to the stunning settings) and funny (lots of lols 😂.) It’s a story of love, fate and friendships, and yes I shed a tear or two. 😭 It’s a joyous book and Winman is such a wonderful storyteller. Her characters sparkled off the page and felt like friends. I particularly liked Claude the parrot 🦜 😂😂 I highly recommend this Bill if you are a Winman fan and/or enjoy historical fiction.

Having thoroughly enjoyed Tin Man, I was so excited to get the chance to read an advanced copy of Sarah Winman's fourth novel. The blurb intrigued me immediately and I found the novel's opening, which focuses on a chance meeting between a young soldier, Ulysses Temper, and an art historian in her 60s, Evelyn Skinner, as the wait out a bombing in Tuscany during World War II, to be incredibly strong.

I found the next section of the novel, which focuses on the lives of Ulysses friends in London, mainly his somewhat estranged wife, Peg, and Ulysses life once he arrives back following the war, to be less compelling and well paced and this is why I rated the book 4 rather than 5 stars. However, I really got into the story once Evelyn's side of the narrative was reintroduce and Ulysses moved back to Italy.

My favourite element of this beautifully written novel was the amazing cast of characters! Each is fully formed and jumps from the page like a real person. Ulysses and Evelyn are fantastic protagonists and I had a real soft spot for Cress and Alys.

If you prefer a truly plot-driven novel, then this may not be the book for you as it is certainly more character driven. It is a story about following your dreams, discovering new passions and finding your family. It shows the very best of humanity and is told with such tenderness, it will take you aback at points. I loved it!

Just when you think you’ve found your favourite books of the year so far, another one comes along. That book is Still Life. What a band of lovable, eccentric characters in this marvellous story that sweeps across more than forty years from the second world war to the late 1970s. It looks at love, friendship, class, sexuality, art and culture in a manner that is both hilarious and sad in equal measures. It takes place in London and Florence, Italy and we also have a glimpse into the life of Evelyn much earlier in the twentieth century. She may have been a spy, but now she lectures in Art History.

When God Was a Rabbit is one of my favourite all-time books so it goes without saying that I was going to love Still Life. The book opens with sexagenarian Evelyn Skinner (who looks ten years younger), sitting with Margaret somebody in Florence during the second world war. Evelyn decides to take a walk outside and stands by the side of the road where she is picked up by Private Ulysses Temper and his superior office Captain Darnley. They end up in a wine cellar full of paintings, drinking wine until they have to vacate when bombs start falling around them. Neither Evelyn nor ‘Temps’ will ever forget that night.

The war is over and Ulysses returns to his wife Peg in London, only to discover that while he was away (to be fair it was years) she has had a child Alys with an American soldier name Eddie. And it is here that the story takes an unusual and unexpected turn. Peg struggles to care for Alys, so when Ulysses inherits a house in Florence, he takes the kid as they call her, with him. They are accompanied by the philosophical, sixty-something Cressy, who talks to a tree back home, and a blue Amazonian parrot named Claude, who quotes Shakespeare and seems to understand almost everything. They travel overland in a vehicle called Betsy.

In London, they leave the heavy-drinking, foul-mouthed landlord Col who runs the Stoat and Parrot (now just the Stoat) where piano Pete plays for the punters, while Peg sings. Col’s wife ran off to Scotland, but daughter Ginny still lives with him, mostly.

We follow these main characters from London to Florence, where they meet even more eccentric people like the adorable Massimo and the elderly contessa, but will Ulysses ever be reunited with Evelyn?

Still Life is a sweeping novel of epic proportions but it cannot be described as an epic or even historical fiction. It’s a tale that evolves slowly, totally character driven and I say that because Florence is one of the characters, as much so as Ulysses, Evelyn, Cressy and Peg and of course the wonderful Claude.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It’s 1944 and in the ruined wine cellar of a Tuscan villa, as the Allied troops advance and bombs fall around them, two strangers meet and share an extraordinary evening together. Ulysses Temper is a young British soldier and one-time globe-maker, Evelyn Skinner is a sexagenarian art historian and possible spy.

The feeling of fate, time relentlessly passing and the need to embrace the moment comes across so strongly in this book., the author has done a beautiful job. This one fleeting moment is woven throughout the rest of the story as it moves from Tuscany to London and on to Florence.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

My thanks to NetGalley and Fourth Estate for a review copy of this one.

Still Life is a heart-warming novel about art, Italy, and really, about life and its many colours. The book opens towards the end of the Second World War, when art historian (and perhaps, spy?) Evelyn Skinner, in her sixties, meets young soldier Ulysses Temper and his superior Captain Darnley in Florence; they form an instant bond, and Evelyn ends up passing on to Ulysses, her love for Florence, and art. The war ends and Ulysses heads back to England where he takes up a job in a pub run by his old friend Col and bonds with pianist Pete, and his father’s old chum (now his), Cressy. Here he also runs into Peg whom he had married before the war but who now has a child with an American soldier she had fallen in love with. Life is moving along (ups and downs) when Ulysses receives an unexpected inheritance and ends up moving to Florence with a motley crew—Peg’s daughter Alys or Kid, Cressy, and the pub’s blue parrot, Claude. Here they attempt to build a new life, one in which poetry and art become a matter of course. There they form new bonds with new friends (particularly, the solicitor Massimo) and their neighbours, but old friends back in England are neither forgotten no far away, for Pete, Col, and in her own way Peg remain part of their lives with visits, constant contact, but much more so by being there, when needed. Alongside we also keep meeting Evelyn Skinner and keeping up with developments in her life. The lives of Evelyn and Ulysses and their friends criss-cross and intertwine, as we follow them from the 1940s through to the 1970s.

Honestly speaking, when I started this book, I found it really hard to get into for nearly the first 20 per cent or so, but then once Ulysses, Kid, Cressy and Claude began to travel to Italy (perhaps a little before that), something changed and I began to be drawn in. Before I knew it, I was in a completely opposite position from not being into the book at all to being completely invested in all the characters, their stories—eager to know how things would turn out for each of them.

The book deals with so many things, art, philosophy, life—its ups and downs, friendships, relationships, love, loss—a whole gamut of topics and a whole gamut of emotions—perhaps a range of those also captured on canvas or in sculptures, but certainly ones we see play out every day. But what stands out ultimately is how important love and support are in life—not romantic love but love of friends, those whom one can bond with, those that stand by you unconditionally, unquestioningly, those who have always got your back. Ulysses and his friends—all of them—have just that and that is heart-warming to see.

I enjoyed Winman’s writing for the most part (this was my first time reading her), her descriptions of Florence (If you love the city, I think you’ll enjoy this all the more), the humour she manages to weave into the writing and plot, and also her story-telling. At times, it was very raw, very visceral which I am not sure how I felt about (may be not entirely comfortable).

My favourite part of the book though were the characters themselves—pretty much all of them are in some way or other eccentric, some of their motivations (particularly, Peg, I thought) don’t make sense and yet, you end up loving them all—main or supporting—each has a distinct personality and voice, each has their flaws, each makes mistakes, but you end up rooting for them all (with the exception of Ted, but then…). (I did want to write more about them, but I feel that would end up turning into an essay.)

And speaking of characters, how can one not write about Claude, the Shakespeare quoting parrot (see cover image)—whether or not he was Shakespeare reborn, he is a loveable bird and a hero in his own right---I wont say how, but read the book to see.

I wish I could write something intelligent about the discussion of art in the book, because there was that too, but honestly with the state of mind I was in, I didn’t really take all of it in. But I did enjoy the discussion of women’s role in the renaissance as subjects and as artists (there were the rare women painters but sadly lost or hidden in the dominant histories).

And being a story of Englishmen (and women) in Italy, this would feel incomplete without Forster and Baedeker, so of course we have them too, Evelyn having ‘met’ him when she made her very first visit in her youth. I won’t tell you what happens but reading the book left me wanting to reread both A Room with a View and The Portrait of a Lady (James is mentioned too).

From a not so great start (though even that made sense later), this turned out to be a lovely, warm, read, full of hope, and about all that is good about human beings. Well worth a read. 4.25 stars from me!

Lines which resonated with me: So, time heals. Mostly. Sometimes carelessly. And in unsuspecting moments, the pain catches and reminds one of all that’s been missing. The fulcrum of what might have been. But then it passes. Winter moves into spring and swallows return.

One thing that irked me (and this may well be because it was a proof copy): Mrs Kaur cooking Dal Makhana (should be Dal makhani, that i.e., buttery dal—a dish; not dal makhana (dal with foxnuts/lotus seeds—not a dish).