Still Life
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4.4 • 122 Ratings
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- £12.99
Publisher Description
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
WINNER OF DYMOCKS BOOK OF THE YEAR
A GUARDIAN BEST BOOK OF 2021
A BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK
WINNER OF THE INWORDS LITERARY AWARD
‘Sheer joy' Graham Norton
‘Utterly beautiful … filled with hope’ Joanna Cannon, author of Three Things About Elsie
’A gorgeous, generous story of kind hearts and kindred spirits’ Daily Mirror
From the author of When God was a Rabbit and Tin Man, Still Life is a big-hearted story of the families we forge and the friendships that make us.
1944, Italy. As bombs fall around them, two strangers meet in the ruined wine cellar of a Tuscan villa and share an extraordinary evening.
Ulysses Temper is a young British soldier, Evelyn Skinner a 64-year-old art historian living life on her own terms. She has come to salvage paintings from the wreckage of war and relive memories of her youth when her heart was stolen by an Italian maid in a particular room with a view. Ulysses’ chance encounter with Evelyn will transform his life – and all those who love him back home in London – forever.
Uplifting, sweeping and full of unforgettable characters, Still Life is a novel about beauty, love, family and friendship.
‘THE most beautiful book … it will stay with me a long time’ Sara Cox, BBC Two’s Between the Covers
‘Extraordinary . . . my book of the year’ Liz Nugent, author of Our Little Cruelties
‘Moving, wise, poetic and funny’ Daily Mail
‘Winman’s pages teem with boisterous, exuberant life’ Sunday Times
Sunday Times bestseller 09/06/2021
About the author
Sarah Winman is author of When God Was a Rabbit, A Year of Marvellous Ways and Tin Man. She lives in London.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This sweeping historical novel is a story of history, art, and humanity at its best. The time-hopping tale opens in 1944, when 24-year-old English soldier Ulysses Temper is stationed in Tuscany. There, he crosses paths with another Brit, sixtysomething art historian Evelyn Skinner, and their friendship alters Ulysses’ perspectives on art and life forever. Years later, when Ulysses moves back to Italy with his quirky, nontraditional family, his appreciation for the lessons he’s learned grows even deeper. Author Sarah Winman mixes poetic prose, vivid storytelling, and a dash of magical realism into a wonderfully rich tale that touches on themes of creativity and LGBTQ+ life. Her narration lends a gentle, eminently British precision to the telling, making the audiobook like a Merchant Ivory movie for your ears. Don’t be surprised if you come away feeling decidedly optimistic about the power of human relationships.
Customer Reviews
Wonderful read
Best book ever. Relationships between a young man and older women who meet up briefly in Italy during the war and have a profound impact on each other. We follow their lives and see how close they come to meeting up but just miss each other. The art and culture of Italy versus London is amazing.
Fabulous book
One the most uplifting and evocative books I’ve listened too in a long time, full of beautiful descriptions so that you sense Florence in all its glory.
Still Life
Taste, Smell, sensuality and above all a sense of belonging to this eclectic group.
As my grandmother encouraged me, Love is all.
Man, woman, pronoun, this could and should be all of us.
Thank you for a beautiful written journey.
D