Still Life by Sarah Winman

Some novels are driven by plot. Still Life is driven by people — by the strange, beautiful ways they enter one another’s lives and never quite leave.

In 1944, amid the ruins of war-torn Tuscany, young British soldier Ulysses Temper meets Evelyn Skinner, an art historian trying to save paintings from destruction. Their brief encounter becomes the beginning of a story that will stretch across decades, cities, friendships, loves, losses, and unexpected forms of family. Goodreads

The strongest element is the cast. Ulysses is gentle, loyal, and deeply human, but he is only part of a much larger ensemble. Winman fills the novel with eccentric, flawed, memorable people who slowly become a family not through blood, but through affection and persistence.

Florence is almost a character in its own right. Art, food, streets, weather, and history give the novel warmth and texture.

The weakness is pace. This is a long, meandering book, and there are sections where atmosphere matters more than momentum. Some readers may find that indulgent.

I mostly found it generous.

Final verdict: A warm, expansive novel about beauty, friendship, chosen family, and the accidental moments that shape an entire life.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Dałbym 4.5/5 — przede wszystkim za bohaterów, Florencję i tę niezwykłą mieszankę melancholii, humoru i ciepła. Książka jest jednak świadomie rozległa i chwilami bardzo niespieszna, więc tempo może być jej największą barierą. Goodreads