Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Still Life

A beautiful snapshot of life.

The writing style purposefully flows like time - unrelenting, constant, not a pause or a playback in sight. This book is meant to be read on the beach, in the sun, in reflection. It single-handedly made me see the beauty in life again, in the small things and in humanity and in love and loss. I was choked up this entire book simply because of the beauty of it and its inevitable end.

Every single character was incredibly unique. All complex, all beautiful. No one was the “good guy” or the “bad guy” because they were intricate sculptures of real people. The acceptance of the multiple queer relationships was done so well, especially given the time period. Sex was explored so uniquely in this book.

The descriptions of Italy left me speechless. The references of art, of architecture, the descriptions of food and outfits and nature and people. The writing was immaculate.

Everyone will get something different from this story, depending on the season of life in which you read it. This book is meant to be consumed repetitively, on trains and beaches and in bed.

Peg was my absolute favorite, which is probably an unpopular opinion. Her character arc and the truly raw emotions she felt unabashedly spoke to my soul. And of course i loved Evelyn and Cress. Cried real tears when Cress and Claude passed away. Col’s character development too - stunning. And I identified so much with Alys.

This has become a Roman Empire book for me.

Content Warnings

pkc's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is a tough book to try and condense into a few words for a review. The story follows a cast of characters, each unique and uniquely identifiable, but linked by Evelyn Skinner and Ulysses Temper, who fatefully meet in Florence in 1944 as the Second World War rages across Europe.

Ulysses takes on the bulk of the narrative as characters weave in and out of his orbit, cementing themselves as friends and drawing from his wellspring of goodness as quickly as he can expel it. As a protagonist, the only word I can think of is gorgeous. He exudes kindness, complexity, grace, and beauty and his helpful nature is inherent throughout the novel.

I really don’t want to say too much because I could probably write an essay and I don’t want to do that. I will say that there is a parrot called Claude and I feel that our perspective as reader is similar to Claude’s perspective. We observe, we are moved by events but mostly, we drift through the story, pitching and sailing on the breeze through 22 years (plus 28 days in 1901…) of the lives of these remarkable human beings as the world changes around them.

It’s not the easiest read in the world. Like the truest of artists, Winman doesn’t baby the reader in any way, but the effect and impact of her prose is dizzying and rich, like a beautiful vino rosso. I dog-eared a few pages with beautiful quotes, but realistically you could just open the book and point to a line and it will no doubt be beautiful. Ugh. What a reading experience!

Content Warnings

culinaryjules's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I had to rate this book 4.75⭐️ just for the beautiful writing. This story is a gorgeous weaving of individuals and their stories. It doesn’t move fast, but the character development and overlay is just delicious. It is stunning, witty, and sometimes fanciful. The characters become so real to you. The writing and memory of this book, and characters, will stay with me a while. This is not a fast, exciting read. It is a slow, emotional burn over many decades. I need to go to Florence!! There are many LGBTQ relationships in the book.

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debbiesstories's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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san_dra's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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sophie42's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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julied's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I really enjoyed spending time in Florence with these characters. There were a few things with the writing I wish were not there but generally I really loved this story. I give a book five stars if it is something I want to keep forever, a book I can see myself rereading one day. This was definitely a group of people I will revisit. I laughed. I cried. I learned a few things. If someone were to ask me if they should read this I would tell them all of that but warn them that there is an open door scene between two people who are fairly young teens. I don't usually mind an open door or two if it adds something to the story and the participants are adults. I can see where someone might not enjoy some of the fantastical elements. I actually did which is not typical of my taste. They are few and far between and the silly helped break up the sad a little. I found this story really sweet and it helped me appreciate my own still life more than I otherwise would have.

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