A review by karteabooks
Still Life by Sarah Winman

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

 I have to admit that this book had sat on my tbr for a long time, and I can only say that I wish that I had picked it up sooner. I know that it’s only the 12th January, but I know that this will be one of my top reads of 2022! Now, where do I start? From their meeting in 1944, Ulysses Temple and Evelyn Skinner were always going to take a different path in life. From the mouth-watering pasta dishes and the numerous drinks to the comedic descriptions of the tribulations and trouble of Claude the Amazonian parrot this book quickly embeds you under it’s spell and even now as I write this review several days after I finished it, I am still so very invested in the book, it’s characters, the beautiful city of Florence and yes, the smog covered city of London too. This is a book that I will re-read at some point as I really didn’t want to leave everyone behind. This is a story about love, and not just romantic or familial love but about love that comes from the heart and about the friendships that stand the test of both time and distance. Resonating through the story was the feeling of being accepted for who you are and that everyone will find their own place in the world, with the people you truly hold near – it just takes some people a lot longer than others. It’s also a story about loss – and yes, I did cry, several times – but I also found myself laughing, proper belly laughing and couple of times I found myself crying with laughter too. 

If you haven’t already, you MUST read this book and be transported between Florence and the smog of 1970’s London and the heart-wrenching lows of life to the heart-racing highs too. 

I will definitely be recommending this to anyone who loves to read, and maybe to those that don’t too!