A review by serendipitysbooks
Still Life by Sarah Winman

challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

 
I’m feeling quietly pleased than my 1000th post is for a 5 star read. Not planned but wonderful serendipity.

Still Life is a fabulous novel with so much depth and complexity. It has a large cast of characters with intertwined story lines which meant it did take me a while to settle into and paying attention wad a must. But the rewards were well worth it, since this book felt like an epic in the best possible way.

The novel begins in Tuscany during World War Two with a meeting between Ulysses, a young British soldier, and Evelyn, an older art historian. From there the story slowly unfolds into the 1970s and then back to the beginning of the century, travelling to England and Florence. It’s my favourite type historical fiction since actual events and real people feature prominently in the plot. The standout event was the 1966 flood of the Arno but references to the Olympics and the football World Cup all helped give an authentic sense of time and place.

I loved the writing and the way it appealed to the senses. So many sentences were superb. The characters were well-drawn and complex; so vivid that they soon felt like old friends, who won’t be forgotten any time soon. I really admire the way Winman pulled off both the highbrow (philosophical discussions about art and its importance) and the lowbrow (an East End pub) and managed to combine them seamlessly. There’s a real depth and richness to this novel. It’s about the importance of art, and about the struggles faced by female artists. It’s about the value and meaning of true friendship and unconditional love. It’s an evocative rendering of Florence, clearly a love letter to that city. It has some LGBT+ storylines woven in and E.M Forster makes an appearance. And it all comes with a side of Shakespeare quoting parrot.

It was a joy to read, a delightfully human story and I loved it. I’m looking forward to discussing it further with @readwithtoni and the rest of the buddy read group later this week.
 
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