Reviews

Konsten att leva by Sarah Winman

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amy_guest's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

leahfaithsilva's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

5.0

bhnmt61's review against another edition

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5.0

This book opens in Italy toward the end of World War II, with a handful of characters who will form the backbone of the story. Ulysses Temper is a young British private who drives for Captain Darnley, tasked with finding Italian masterpieces that were hidden away in the countryside to keep them safe during the war. Evelyn Skinner, 64, a civilian with a similar task, has found herself sidelined in a tiny rural hotel. They meet accidentally, spend a memorable evening together, then don’t see each other again for years.

Back in London after the war, Ulysses takes up his old life but of course nothing is the same. We meet the owner of the pub where he works, the woman he married the night before he shipped out for Italy, the pub pianist with dreams of the stage, and half a dozen other lovable characters. Several years later, an unexpected inheritance sends him back to Florence with a couple of unlikely companions.

Twenty pages into this book, I was charmed. A hundred pages later, I thought I could read about these characters forever. But somewhere around page 350, I realized, no, actually, I couldn’t. It is a bit long. I loved Evelyn Skinner, but the two lengthy digressions into her past, including several lectures about art history, really bogged down the main story.

So, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. I’m still giving it five stars, because aside from the draggy bits, it’s truly fun to read, with lovable characters who end up feeling like members of your own family. I suspect it will be one of my favorite books of the year.

The blurbs I read beforehand described it as a heartwarming story of found family, and that’s true, but that led me to expect the novel equivalent of a Hallmark movie. I have no objection to that—obviously, since I checked the book out of our library— but this is a far more complex, layered tale. I loved it, in spite of the slow parts. Highly recommended.