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A review by chrisjeffery
Still Life by Sarah Winman
5.0
Bit of a jewel this!
Having started it a few years ago and left it behind far too early, I am so glad I came back to it. It was a joy...full of charm, wit, joy, tenderness, grit, sex, friendship...and parrots. The writing is fluent and jaunty, spinnig a tale spread over 35 years (more really, once the final chapter gets going), taking us from post-Allied invasion Tuscany in 1944 to Florence in 1979 via grimy post-war working class London, and introducing a rich cast of wonderful characters that will linger long in the memory. All of them are big-hearted, quirky, flawed and coping with their own struggles, but the friendship they build as they come and go from a pensione on a piazza in post-war Florence is extraordinary, and captivatingly described.
The nature of love in all its forms; the crucial role and importance of art in reflecting human experience; the place of women in historical and contemporary societies; the irreplaceable value of friendship forged in both good and adverse times: all these are explored by Sarah Winman with great skill and a huge affection for her creations. I loved it!
I read most of it but listened to some of it on Spotify, read outstandingly well by the author -an actor herself; I'd recommend that as highly as I do this truly delightful novel.
Having started it a few years ago and left it behind far too early, I am so glad I came back to it. It was a joy...full of charm, wit, joy, tenderness, grit, sex, friendship...and parrots. The writing is fluent and jaunty, spinnig a tale spread over 35 years (more really, once the final chapter gets going), taking us from post-Allied invasion Tuscany in 1944 to Florence in 1979 via grimy post-war working class London, and introducing a rich cast of wonderful characters that will linger long in the memory. All of them are big-hearted, quirky, flawed and coping with their own struggles, but the friendship they build as they come and go from a pensione on a piazza in post-war Florence is extraordinary, and captivatingly described.
The nature of love in all its forms; the crucial role and importance of art in reflecting human experience; the place of women in historical and contemporary societies; the irreplaceable value of friendship forged in both good and adverse times: all these are explored by Sarah Winman with great skill and a huge affection for her creations. I loved it!
I read most of it but listened to some of it on Spotify, read outstandingly well by the author -an actor herself; I'd recommend that as highly as I do this truly delightful novel.