Still Life: A GMA Book Club Pick (A Novel) Paperback – September 13, 2022

This author knows how to reach me deeply and quickly. Reading becomes such a gift when it becomes an immediate transport to other places and times and to characters I could know and like… All of them. So unusual to discover love scenes between women so well written, so normal, a genuine surprise and delight. I would highly recommend to anyone looking for an open door, temporarily.

Wonderful, lovable characters. Makes me want to visit Florence. I loved the gradual development of the story. Very touching.. I would recommend it totally..

A book driven by stunning characterization and vivid description. Filled with a full cast of compelling personalities, this story is a true delight.

This book, it’s characters, will stay with me and be recommended to friends.The journey it took me on, I never wanted to end.Ciao Evelyn, Ulysses and Alys for now. Can’t wait to visit Italy again after reading this; walking the streets, stopping in cafes for an afternoon aperitif, and people watching as I absorb the culture in all its glory.

The author shows some ability at character development but her story telling is really weak. You have to wade through pompous, almost absurd metaphors and descriptions, as well as endless lectures on any number of topics to get at the meat of the movement of the tale. After persevering, the reader is rewarded by a long segue away from the main characters to a description of a secondary character’s late adolescence. I’ve never read anything so disjointed or disappointing.

Sarah Winman writes beautifully. Sometimes, I had to pause just to savor her words. I loved all of the characters and will miss them. My only criticism would be that it was longer than it needed to be.

’Once is enough. We just need to know what the heart’s capable of, Evelyn.And do you know what it’s capable of?I do. Grace and fury.’An ode to art, to a time and place, and a shared ’belief that a combination of intellect and beauty can make the world a better place.’’It’s what we’ve always done. Left a mark on a cave or on a page. Showing who we are, sharing our view of the world, the life we’re made to bear. Our turmoil is revealed in those painted faces--sometimes tenderly, sometimes grotesquely, but art becomes a mirror. All the symbolism and the paradox, ours to interpret. That’s how it becomes part of us. And as counterpoint to our suffering, we have beauty. We like beauty, don’t we? Something good on the eye cheers us. Does something to us on a cellular level, makes us feel alive and enriched. Beautiful art opens our eyes to the beauty of the world, Ulysses. It repositions our sight and judgment. Captures forever that which is fleeting. A meager stain in the corridors of history, that’s all we are. A little mark of scuff. One hundred and fifty years ago Napoleon breathed the same air as we do now. The battalion of time marches on. Art versus humanity is not the question, Ulysses. One doesn’t exist without the other. Art is the antidote.’Set mostly in Florence, this is a story of family. Not your typical Father/Mother with 2.5 kids kind of family, this is a family made up of friends acquired along the way who have come to live in Florence in the mid 20th century, when the bombs were still falling, which adds to the desire to live life fully while they still can, and appreciate what beauty there is left in life with an intensity as the world seems to be crumbling around them.A love story, if a somewhat atypical one. A story of friendship, of family, both the ones we are born into and the ones that we create from the people we meet as we travel through life. It is the story of war, the destruction to the land, and the destruction to the people whose lives are affected, and the friendships that were born of the time. A love story to a place and time, and to love, in all its many forms.At 464 pages, this is not a quick or light read, but it is one that will now live inside me, as all the best stories do.

And to love. And to the created family. With a touch of magical realism. And a parrot who quotes Shakespeare. Mothers, daughters, sons, husbands, wives, lovers, friends. A world really too beautiful for mere mortals to inhabit.

I really enjoyed the elegant prose, the character building - and the characters themselves - as well as the intertwining lives. A lovely read, that I was sad to come to the end to.

Read it during our Summer vacation in tuscany. Couldn't stop reading. Description of the atmosphere of this so wonderful place ist done absolutely perfect. I had to laugh, I had to cry......Simply wonderful.

A beautiful story. Not too many characters to try to remember.. just very strong ones with the power of art and the beauty of Italy combined. I devoured every page.

Liked all characters and their daily life conversations and poem by Cress and Peet The freedom to road and liked Ulysses the most as unconditional love for his chosen family

Being half english, half italian, grown up in Italy and lived in Florence for 14 years, I simply adored this book, catching the nuances of both cultures. Funny, touching, emotional, interesting....a geat book!