Such a beautifully written book. On the back of World War II so many weird things happened. Some sad and some happy, but situations like the one written in this book, we’re all too common. Events changed peoples lives.
I loved the detailed descriptions in this book. It hooked my from the very first page.
Wonderful style - melted my heart.

Still Life is an epic love letter to the city of Florence and a tender story of relationships, love and found family, starting in the Second World War and ending in the 1970s. There are two main protagonists: Ulysses Temper, an east end son of a globe maker who first visited Florence during the war as a soldier, and Evelyn Skinner, the older lesbian art historian who Ulysses first meets trying to save Italian art and monuments from Nazi looting.

Ulysses and Evelyn are both great characters, but it’s the supporting cast who really made this novel for me. I loved Cressy the old man who talks to trees, Claude the parrot and Alys the Kid who forges her own way in the world, seeming older than her years. I could feel the Italian sunshine through the pages - this would be such a great book to take on holiday to Italy.

A highly recommended read for those who love character driven reads filled with love, art, poetry and sunshine.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.

Still Life is another beautifully written novel from Sarah Winman which slowly unfolds over several decades. Starting in Florence during the Second World War, then to London and Tucany it follows the lives of Ulysses, Peg, Col, Pete, Cress, the kid and several other well developed characters. Sometimes funny, often sad and definitely a slow burn.
I absolutely loved Tin Man and recommended it far and wide. Unfortunately, this novel didn’t quite resonate with me in the same way, but Is still thoroughly enjoyable and moving.

Having absolutely loved [book:Tin Man|31117613], I was really looking forward to this new one by Sarah Winman. And... I wish I'd loved it more.

Once again, it's beautifully character-driven with a simple yet emotive writing style. Characters lead the story rather than plot, however of a book of this length I was kind of waiting for... <i>something</i> to happen. It's a long old book and — although this is because it spans decades in both Florence and East London in the mid-20th century — perhaps it could have worked better if it was trimmed down significantly.

This next point comes down to personal preference, but <i>my god</i> I wish Winman used quotation marks. As a stylistic choice, I understand that it can lend itself to the slightly whimsical, flowing writing style that she has, however in a book with quite as much dialogue as this one (entire scenes can be practically all dialogue), it just feels like a barrier to overcome while reading it. At times it's entirely unclear not only who is speaking, but whether anyone is at all or whether a sentence is part of the prose.

Most of the notes I made while reading where slightly towards the negative end of the scale... and yet... I really enjoyed so much of it. I loved the descriptions of Florence and the East End. I loved seeing them change subtly over the time that the book spans. I loved the writing about historical events that are touched upon — the Second World War and the 1966 flood of the Arno being two of the key ones. I loved so many of the characters, and how they all developed throughout the book.

I've already recommended this book to a couple of people I know who are as in love with Florence as a person can be, yet overall I'm not really sure how I feel about it. Disappointed, probably, however that is mostly down to having such high expectations based on a previous Winman book. It's certainly not bad. In fact it's pretty damn good.

And yet.

Sarah Winman does it again. What a sweeping novel of love and heartache and friendship. I adored this novel. I laughed, I cried, I giggled, I imagined. Set in both England and Italy, this novel covers a vast landscape of characters. drawing you into their lives leaving you wanting more. And more. While this novel was long, I was still bereft when the book ended and had to leave Temps, The kid, Cress, Peg, Claud and Col behind on the pages. A feminist slant, with much reference to art, literature, travel, trees, and the spaces in between of the choices we make, the chance encounters which enrich our lives so much more than one could ever imagine and young lesbian love. This book is reminiscent of The Hundred years of Lennie and Margot, and Eveanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, a book seeped in the poetry of life and how the people in our worlds make up a large part of our existence. I absolutely loved this book and would highly recommend everybody to read it. With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the review copy.

I really enjoyed this book! It keeps you guessing on how it will all link together. The characters are all very sympathetic and easy to engage with. I had thought that the elderly women at the beginning would play more of a role this didn’t detract from the story.

I found this novel very hard to get into- the lack of chapters and Sarah’s type of narrative, but stuck with it even so. It is set mainly in Florence and revolves around Ulysses Temper a soldier and Evelyn, a lady he meets and becomes friends with. To be honest I didn’t really enjoy it as much as I had hoped to, although I appreciate others will.

‘We just need to know what the heart’s capable of, Evelyn,

And do you know what it’s capable of?

I do. Grace and fury.’

As with all of Sarah’s books – this is utterly beautiful. Sarah is, as many have said, one of the greatest story tellers of our time. When God Was a Rabbit – published in 2011, was all-consuming and set the bar very high for Sarah’s work. So it’s natural to be cautious about a new publication – rest assured you do not need to be!

You need to clear your schedule for this book, because you will get lost in it. It will consume you. You will consume it. There’s happy, sad, hilarious and devestating aspects – perfectly knitted together to create a beautiful novel. The characters will tug at your heart strings and you will not want to say goodbye to them by the end.

I daresay this is a good book, but unfortunately this isn't for me. The narrative style wasn't the kind I like. I was expecting something very different and found it a difficult read.

I'm a sucker for anything set in gorgeous Florence and this wonderful new book from Sarah Winman only made me fall in love with the place even more. A beautiful story with unforgettable characters. A great story to savour and get completely lost in. Highly recommended.

This gorgeous novel had a whole cast of eclectic characters, a parrot who made me laugh out loud, a man who dates women alphabetically by first name, and a wonderful whole segment where our little band of characters settle in Florence! It was so delightful, so charming, that I really didn't want it to end. I did like Evelyn's character, but her story at the end seemed to sit a little strangely,

Anyway, the characters all seemed very real to me - Ulysses and Cress were my favs - and I'll never forget them.. It made me want to go to Florence and just bask in the beauty. The Room with a View comparisons only really come in towards the end, with Evelyn's part of the story, but that was okay...I stopped looking for them after a little while.

Great read.

This is a five star book nestled in a three star book. It has an inexplicably dull beginning and and inexplicably dull ending. But the rest is terrific and well worth the price of entry.

It opens in northern Italy late in WW2. Evelyn Skinner is an art historian who has come to Italy to help salvage paintings, where she meets a British soldier called Ulysses Temper. In a short time they develop a friendship, then go their separate ways. Ulysses returns to London to find that his wife has fallen in love with an American soldier and had his baby. We get to know his circle: his father, his friends, his ex-wife. The book will follow them all over the passing years. For the most part it is set in Florence where Ulysses returns to live.

The book's charm lies in the characters whom you come to know and love (especially Ulysses). You think about them when you're not reading the book and you miss them when it ends. They are all loveable and quirky and often funny (if not always believable). It's about the bonds that represent family in our lives. It has astute and loving observations about human nature. There's also a running theme of art, with every character finding an avenue of artistic expression.

However I have to admit that the book took a while to win me over - at first I wasn't clear where it was going and I was getting the many characters muddled - and towards the end it goes back to fill in some of Evelyn's back story which frankly I didn't care about. So it's a mixed bag, but when it's good, it's really wonderful.

This novel is perfection. There are few times that I have read a novel with characters so vivid and fully formed, sights and sounds so evocative, and emotions so acutely observed and described.

This is a novel about life, its beauty and its pleasures, and about the people we love, whether family or friends. Split between London and Florence, we are drawn into the worlds of two people who meet by chance. Evelyn Skinner, sixty-four and in Italy during the Second World War in her role as an art historian, meets Private Ulysses Temper, twenty-four and part of the Eighth Army. What follows is a story containing a cast of loveable, highly memorable characters and chapter after chapter of exquisite writing that shares the highs and lows, the joys and sorrows, of their lives over the course of the following decades. Every facet of the human condition is reflected in these pages and you will find yourself caring deeply for each of the characters.

This is the first time I have read any of Sarah Winman’s work and I was briefly thrown by her writing style not including speech marks but quickly got used to this. Unsurprisingly, given so much of the novel takes place in and around Florence, there is a flavour of E. M. Forster’s ‘A Room With A View’, too, and both Forster and his novel are referred a handful of times, with a marvellous scene featuring the author himself that concludes the book. As someone who studied ‘A Room With A View’ at school, this was a delightful bonus.

I am extremely grateful to the publisher, Fourth Estate, for an advance copy, on which this review in based. This is one of the best books I’ve read this year and I implore anyone reading this to purchase a copy. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I feel my own life has been enriched by this novel and it’s one I feel sure I will return to again and again in years to come.

This is a character driven novel which moves from Italy to London in the decades after the Second World War. The book opens when two women meet a soldier and the story follows their adventures..
I thought the descriptions were good and it was well written but I’m sure I will be in the minority here as I was not gripped by the storyline at all. I’m in a reading slump and think book is just for me being read at the wrong time.
It’s excellent in relationships and I did enjoy this aspect of it but a bit slow paced for me.
3 stars but I’m sure there will be lots and lots of people who will love this.
Thanks the author, publisher and NetGalley for an arc in return for an honest review.

The sense of time and place is pin sharp, with the reader being immediately transported to wherever the author wants us to go. Sarah Winman is an incredibly versatile author and this will delight her many fans

Sarah Winman's writing is such a treat. I immediately fell in love the characters, the setting, the dialogue, the theme. A real skill to be able to write about this era in a way that feels fresh and hopeful.

I wish I could say how much I enjoyed this book, as I can see that many others have, but for me it was ruined by complete lack of Speech marks. It made dialogue seem monotonous which completely spoilt the book for me.

This is a beautifully written book about a great bunch of characters. We follow them from 1944 through to the late 1970s as they meet up, love, leave, and then regroup. A great history of the times too with plenty of social history references for those who remember the years and for those who are interested in what was going on when their parents and grandparents were young(er). Such lyrical writing which gives a great sense of time and place. I loved it. With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the e-ARC of this book for me to read and review.

"Still Life" by Sarah Winman is a beautifully written book about life in Florence during and after the 2nd World War. Action flits back and forth between dreary post-war London and la dolce vita of Florence and the colourful characters that come to inhabit the bed and breakfast there. The characters and the interesting stories that these characters tell is what makes this book. I just want to be there and be their friends!

Having not read anything by Sarah Winman before, I dove into reading Still Life completely blind.

Off the bat, I will warn any potential readers that this does not have any speech marks which, whilst an organic way to read, can make it a difficult one when trying to work out who is speaking. However, whilst the separation of text can be frustrating, the text itself is well-written and spans several time periods, focusing on snapshots of time (that Still Life the title alludes to) in East London and Florence, Italy.

It is in Florence, in 1944, that young soldier Ulysses Temper shares a bottle of 1900 Château Margaux in a cellar with sexagenarian art historian Evelyn Skinner (possible spy), discussing art, life and beauty as bombs fall around them. It appears a running theme in other reviews that the first 100 pages can be a slog to get through due to the lack of apparent plot and slow pacing. Whilst I agree the pacing was slow and normally am all for plot-heavy books that drive you forward, I did enjoy Still Life and its approach.

As a queer woman, I am always on the lookout for LGBTQ+ representation and, despite the time period Still Life normalises it incredibly well. Oh, Evelyn isn’t straight, cool beans, moves on - who she loves/sleeps with is central to her as a person and character but isn’t just facilitated as a plot device, which I really appreciated.

However, Claude the Parrot is my favourite character, no I will not be taking questions at this time, you’ll just have to read and find out why he’s your favourite too.

Overall, despite its lack of pace, Still Life creates a richly interwoven story that all starts in a little cellar with a bottle of wine and some gorgeous 16th Century art.

My thanks to NetGalley, Sarah Winman and Fourth Estate for the ARC.