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4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
I loved this, quite easily one of the most enjoyable, full circle, rich and satisfying books I have read this year. I have been trying to move away from the overload of gloomy, negative, sad, violent, depressing themed novels that seem to be saturating the market in recent months. It seems that during difficult times, such as we have with Covid at the moment, the tone of our reading changes to suit. Being recently published, this novel is already defying the theme of the age! It's glorious and beautiful, full of love and even a type of magic. I think now, when for a lot of people, hope and having things to look forward to is hard to find, a book like this is sheer joy, something beautiful and uplifting to read, and with plenty of wry humour to help.
The story opens in 1944, Florence, the Allies recently arrived to liberate the city and clear out the Nazis, a few of whom linger snipering as they go. Evelyn Skinner is a middle aged adventurous spinster who happens to be in Florence, in the capacity of an art historian helping with recovered and rediscovered art wonders. She also happened to live in Florence for a time as a young woman, and it has always been a place close to her heart. As you would expect in Florence. A chance meeting with a young British soldier, Ulysses Temple, ignorant of the stupendous art environment he finds himself in, creates an instant and lovely connection, that haunts them both for years to come, shaping the course of both their lives. As do the consequences of an extraordinary act of courage that Ulysses undertakes during this time.
After the war Ulysses is back in the East End, back to the local pub with its wonderful, endearing, complicated, damaged cast of residents and regulars, including his wife Peggy. These two were children together, that somehow ended up marrying. Separated by the war, Peg falls in love with an American servicman who promises her the sky, the earth and everything in between, but naturally fails to deliver, leaving her pregnant. A child is born, into an instant family at the pub, which also includes Claude - the parrot depicted on the cover of the book.
Some years later, as a result of what happened in Florence in 1944, Ulysses is back in Florence. How he gets there is almost a story in itself so I can't reveal that here! A wonderful love story with the city and his little slice of paradise begins to unfold, the city weaving its magic not only over Ulysses, but the rest of his pub family, and finally Evelyn herself.
I love the characters the author has created. Such real people, full of the worries and anxieties, hopes and dreams that we all have, derailed by life events. There is a love of art and beauty, possibly hard to find in post war East End, London, which affects them all deeply, opening them up further to the world and the possibilities in it. It is a beautifully told tale of connection, memory, what makes a family, and love.
The story opens in 1944, Florence, the Allies recently arrived to liberate the city and clear out the Nazis, a few of whom linger snipering as they go. Evelyn Skinner is a middle aged adventurous spinster who happens to be in Florence, in the capacity of an art historian helping with recovered and rediscovered art wonders. She also happened to live in Florence for a time as a young woman, and it has always been a place close to her heart. As you would expect in Florence. A chance meeting with a young British soldier, Ulysses Temple, ignorant of the stupendous art environment he finds himself in, creates an instant and lovely connection, that haunts them both for years to come, shaping the course of both their lives. As do the consequences of an extraordinary act of courage that Ulysses undertakes during this time.
After the war Ulysses is back in the East End, back to the local pub with its wonderful, endearing, complicated, damaged cast of residents and regulars, including his wife Peggy. These two were children together, that somehow ended up marrying. Separated by the war, Peg falls in love with an American servicman who promises her the sky, the earth and everything in between, but naturally fails to deliver, leaving her pregnant. A child is born, into an instant family at the pub, which also includes Claude - the parrot depicted on the cover of the book.
Some years later, as a result of what happened in Florence in 1944, Ulysses is back in Florence. How he gets there is almost a story in itself so I can't reveal that here! A wonderful love story with the city and his little slice of paradise begins to unfold, the city weaving its magic not only over Ulysses, but the rest of his pub family, and finally Evelyn herself.
I love the characters the author has created. Such real people, full of the worries and anxieties, hopes and dreams that we all have, derailed by life events. There is a love of art and beauty, possibly hard to find in post war East End, London, which affects them all deeply, opening them up further to the world and the possibilities in it. It is a beautifully told tale of connection, memory, what makes a family, and love.
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
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:
Complicated
Loved the characters and the way their lives entwined with others. Beautiful descriptions of Italy too.
I cannot recommend this book enough. So beautifully written with excellent character development. Thanks to my sister in law Mary Mencarini Campbell for giving me the book to read.
Succulent, a lovely letter to Florence, art and found family.
As the world is shattered so it is drawn back together .. the ebb and flow of this story captivated me.
I laughed, reflected, had art and poetry floating around me and all of this happens while decades pass, a child grows up, love is found, lost, mourned and flourishes in so many different ways that occasionally left me breathless. There is much beauty in this telling.
I loved the language, literature, places, art, poetry, history, characters and the intertwining of all this and more to bring a disparate family together.
I laughed, reflected, had art and poetry floating around me and all of this happens while decades pass, a child grows up, love is found, lost, mourned and flourishes in so many different ways that occasionally left me breathless. There is much beauty in this telling.
I loved the language, literature, places, art, poetry, history, characters and the intertwining of all this and more to bring a disparate family together.
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
As always, I love Sarah Winman’s writing. This book is quirky. I loved having Florence as the major setting.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Complicated
I read this book because, after reading A Year Of Marvellous Ways by Sarah Winman, I decided she is probably one of my favourite authors! This one I was very excited for because of how much longer it was, as my main issue with the other book was that I wanted to follow the characters lives for longer.
Overall, I found this book absolutely lovely :) it was beautifully written on the whole, with very colourful descriptions and insights. Every character and side character was fleshed out and unique, and I found it very easy to empathise with them - even the purposely flawed or annoying characters I loved by the end. My favourite aspect of this book was just that: how character-driven it was, and how it feels like you are able to watch so much of these people's growth and the way they weave in and out of each other's lives.
I would say the main themes of this book were probably beauty, art and journeys? I thought all of these were covered beautifully and complemented each other really well, tying together a plot which could have easily ended up feeling a bit aimless. On the other hand, there were definitely a few points in the middle of the book which did feel unnecessary or maybe a bit too slow paced.
There were also small parts of the writing style which I didn't love. Occasionally characters, whether intentional or not, would talk with very inaccessible language about quite inaccessible topics, especially when it came to art - it often felt like I had to skip over dialogue which just wouldn't make sense to anyone without an extensive knowledge of art history and Italy.
Overall, I found this book absolutely lovely :) it was beautifully written on the whole, with very colourful descriptions and insights. Every character and side character was fleshed out and unique, and I found it very easy to empathise with them - even the purposely flawed or annoying characters I loved by the end. My favourite aspect of this book was just that: how character-driven it was, and how it feels like you are able to watch so much of these people's growth and the way they weave in and out of each other's lives.
I would say the main themes of this book were probably beauty, art and journeys? I thought all of these were covered beautifully and complemented each other really well, tying together a plot which could have easily ended up feeling a bit aimless. On the other hand, there were definitely a few points in the middle of the book which did feel unnecessary or maybe a bit too slow paced.
There were also small parts of the writing style which I didn't love. Occasionally characters, whether intentional or not, would talk with very inaccessible language about quite inaccessible topics, especially when it came to art - it often felt like I had to skip over dialogue which just wouldn't make sense to anyone without an extensive knowledge of art history and Italy.
Six out of five stars. Beautifully crafted, all the feels, all the brilliant dialogue, laced with my kind of language.
Unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Get me to Italy, pronto!
Unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Get me to Italy, pronto!