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4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
4.5 Stunning descriptions, lively characters, loads of love that spanned decades. Failed to get a 5 for two reasons. The first is that the night that was supposed to be so life changing wasn't written about in anyway that made me feel it. That ties in with my second criticism: too much skimming and not enough honing in. Each character was held at arm's length. I could love some of them but they'd always be strangers.
Reminiscent of John Boyne's book, The Heart's Invisible Furies.
Reminiscent of John Boyne's book, The Heart's Invisible Furies.
emotional
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
Amazingly written, just wow. One of the best books I’ve read the past few years.
A group of eclectic and colourful East End characters (mainly), including a larger-than-life parrot, who become a family of sorts over the course of decades. The city of Florence and its artwork feature heavily in the story - as a non-arty person this was of little interest to me - and I thought the relationship viz friendship between Ulysses and Evelyn - two very incongruous characters in my opinion - hard to understand. I loved Cressy, but most of the other characters I cared little about. It was a curious book, one I really didn’t warm to.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
This is a hard review to write as on finishing this book I feel utterly bereft, I really, really did not want it to end, I could quite happily pick it back up and start it all over again and that is a rare feeling for me. This is a book that will stay with me, I think I will find myself wondering how the characters are doing whilst I'm stood in a queue or in a quiet moment, and I know that if I ever go to Florence I will be looking for them out the corner of my eye. I adored every single character, from quiet and kind Ulysses to brash and bold Peg, deep thinking and soul feeling Cress, and erudite and wise Evelyn. Each has their story to tell and their part to play in each others and the novel flows along like a river drawing the reader into their lives and immersing them in their loves. This is a story about love, and friendship and families given and families found, it's a story about finding your place in the world, about finding your people and your passion. It a story about loss and grief but also about great great joy. The writing is unique and beautiful, at times I laughed out laugh and other times quietly wept, and the descriptions of Italy are enough to make you feel like you've been. Covering four decades this novel passes in the blink of an eye and four decades more would still not be enough time in this world, with these people. Sarah Winman is an awesome writer and I have loved her previous books but this really is the cream of the crop and although it is only April I think this will be a hard book to beat for my book of this year.
slow-paced