Reviews with content warning for Death - Still Life

Reviews tagging 'Death'

Still Life by Sarah Winman

22 reviews

pkc's review against another edition

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!

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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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kryskross's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

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jencolumb0's review

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adventurous emotional informative reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

I had the luck of reading Room With a View just before happening to pick this one up and I am so thrilled that I did. It made Winman’s play off EM Forester that much more delightful (and made the time I spent with his incredibly unlikeable characters quite worthwhile). Even if you’ve read Room with a View, it’s worth re-reading before you pick this one up, just to get the full breadth of the conversation Winman is having.

That conversation and the (obviously well-researched) bits about Florentine artists, particularly female artists, as well as the over-arching conversation of how women must and chose to live their lives around men in a patriarchy (cleverly woven into the story) were heady contrasts to the relatively mundane passage of time memorialized in the book.

I, too, adore Florence. Like many of the characters in the book, I went when I was young, the city promptly imprinted itself onto my heart, and I have returned at every opportunity since, peeling back layers to reveal new aspects of my freedom each time. You would think that I would adore this book, too. And I did. For the first 250 pages or so.

Then, the action in the book just kind of petered out: the characters continued to bounce between the pub in London and the pensione in Florence, learning very little new about themselves and nothing surprising happened to them in fact. I am still not entirely sure why we all had to hang onto getting through through the 70s to achieve the ends of the book. Perhaps, on the heels of a Rachel Joyce book, I was ready to read something with a bit more action. Nonetheless, a lovely read that should be a priority for anyone heading to Florence or whose heart belongs there.

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jcinf's review

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hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

3.75

Not a bad book by any means. Just very slow. At some points, nothing happened at all. That’s not inherently a bad thing, but I need a stronger plot to keep me engaged.

Though, I will say that it was a relaxing read. Lowkey, enjoyable, with a few bits of wisdom scattered throughout.

Reminded me of my time in Florence for sure. Made me nostalgic in the best way. Made me hope my future is a lot like Evelyn’s.

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frankieclc's review against another edition

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4.5

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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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mandkips's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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charliphillipps's review

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funny hopeful inspiring 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

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