Book Review: Still Life by Sarah Winman

 

Book: Still Life

Author: Sarah Winman 

Pages: 464

Publiser: PenguinRandomHouse 

Read in: ~5 hours

Read on: Kindle 

Plot Summary: 1944, in the ruined wine cellar of a Tuscan villa, as bombs fall around them, two strangers meet and share an extraordinary evening.

Ulysses Temper is a young British soldier, Evelyn Skinner is a sexagenarian art historian and possible spy. She has come to Italy to salvage paintings from the wreckage and relive memories of the time she encountered EM Forster and had her heart stolen by an Italian maid in a particular Florentine room with a view.

Evelyn’s talk of truth and beauty plants a seed in Ulysses’ mind that will shape the trajectory of his life – and of those who love him – for the next four decades.

Moving from the Tuscan Hills and piazzas of Florence, to the smog of London’s East End, Still Life is a sweeping, joyful novel about beauty, love, family and fate.

Things I Liked: 

1. I enjoy well written historical fiction because it brings to light the lives of everyday people during devastating and monumental epochs of our history. It helps us, present day humans, to walk in the shoes of those who lived through times similar yet different from our own. It shows us the best and worst of humanity. I have read and enjoyed several historical fiction books and most of them, by design and default, have been around the Second World War. I have enjoyed books that brought to life non-Euro-centric events as well as different situations and struggles of people in different parts of Europe. So, when I read the premise of Still Life I knew I immediately wanted to read it because it hinted at a story about and beyond the Second World War. 

2. This book is a panoramic yet microscopic view of the lives of two people, who met during a chance encounter in Tuscany. Ulysses was in his 20s and Evelyn in her 60s. They shared an evening finding priceless art stolen by the Germans. Both make an impression on the other, especially, Evelyn on Ulysses and from them on 'living a life of truth and beauty' becomes a mantra of sorts for the young man. So, starting with 1944, the book moves through the 50s, 60s and ends in 1979 with a focus on the lives of Ulysses and Evelyn and those of the people around them. 

3. This book is all about the people. The characters and their relationships are front-and-centre in this book and makes it the heartwarming winner that it is. The people around Ulysses- his ex-wife Peg, her little girl- Alys, Ulysses' uncle-like figure- Cress and the crochety pub owner Col- make up his little world and they are with him through thick and thin. I enjoyed meeting each of these people and their interactions, wisdom and even their mistakes. The generosity, kindness and love of Ulysses' chosen family, their being there for each other through ups and downs is so heartwarming. 

4. Evelyn's journey is also so interesting. As a woman, a queer woman at that, living her life in the early 20th century, Evelyn manages to live independently and finds her own version of happiness with her chosen family. Her paths almost cross with Ulysses over the decades and, finally, they are reunited in the late 1960s when they get to spend a lot of time becoming each others' family. I loved their relationship and the wisdom that Evelyn had about life, art and people. 

5. The book is partially set in Florence and the description of Florence's art, architecture and history make me ache to go visit the city that's been on my bucket list for years! The various people that Ulysses, Alys and Cress meet and befriend in Florence and so colourful and sweet. The book also shows us the devastation brought about by the heat 1966 flooding of the Arno river in which millions of priceless books and art were destroyed. The way people of the city (and even some from various parts of Europe) rallied around to help Florence recover was so heartwarming. There's that word again- heartwarming- but that's really what this book is! A big hug of a book about everyday people and their love, kindness and transcendental relationships. 

Rating: 4.5/5