STILL LIFE by Sarah Winman

I loved this, quite easily one of the most enjoyable, full circle, rich and satisfying books I have read this year. I have been trying to move away from the overload of gloomy, negative, sad, violent, depressing themed novels that seem to be saturating the market in recent months. It seems that during difficult times, such as we have with Covid at the moment, the tone of our reading changes to suit. Being recently published, this novel is already defying the theme of the age! It's glorious and beautiful, full of love and even a type of magic. I think now, when for a lot of people, hope and having things to look forward to is hard to find, a book like this is sheer joy, something beautiful and uplifting to read, and with plenty of wry humour to help. 

The story opens in 1944, Florence, the Allies recently arrived to liberate the city and clear out the Nazis, a few of whom linger snipering as they go. Evelyn Skinner is a middle aged adventurous spinster who happens to be in Florence, in the capacity of an art historian helping with recovered and rediscovered art wonders. She  also happened to live in Florence for a time as a young woman, and it has always been a place close to her heart. As you would expect in Florence. A chance meeting with a young British soldier, Ulysses Temple, ignorant of the stupendous art environment he finds himself in, creates an instant and lovely connection, that haunts them both for years to come, shaping the course of both their lives. As do the consequences of an extraordinary act of courage that Ulysses undertakes during this time. 

After the war Ulysses is back in the East End, back to the local pub with its wonderful, endearing, complicated, damaged cast of residents and regulars, including his wife Peggy. These two were children together, that somehow ended up marrying. Separated by the war, Peg falls in love with an American servicman who promises her the sky, the earth and everything in between, but naturally fails to deliver, leaving her pregnant. A child is born, into an instant family at the pub, which also includes Claude - the parrot depicted on the cover of the book.

Some years later, as a result of what happened in Florence in 1944, Ulysses is back in Florence. How he gets there is almost a story in itself so I can't reveal that here!  A wonderful love story with the city and his little slice of paradise begins to unfold, the city weaving its magic not only over Ulysses, but the rest of his pub family, and finally Evelyn herself. 

I love the characters the author has created. Such real people, full of the worries and anxieties, hopes and dreams that we all have, derailed by life events. There is a love of art and beauty, possibly hard to find in post war East End, London, which affects them all deeply, opening them up further to the world and the possibilities in it. It is a beautifully told tale of connection, memory, what makes a family, and love.