Still Life

By: Sarah Winman

Narrated by: Sarah Winman

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

Critic reviews

‘The sheer joy in Sarah Winman’s storytelling is completely infectious. I’ve loved spending time with this unforgettable cast of characters in extraordinary times and places’ Graham Norton

‘Winman’s pages teem with boisterous, exuberant life … The novel has verve, charm and tremendous heart’ Sunday Times

‘Exquisite … There are not enough superlatives to contain the magnitude and beauty of this novel’ Sunday Independent

‘Sentence after sentence, character by character, Still Life becomes poetry’ New York Times Book Review

‘A tonic for wanderlust and a cure for loneliness. It’s that rare, affectionate novel that makes one feel grateful to have been carried along’ The Washington Post

‘Teeming with unforgettable characters and oozing atmosphere, it’s a joyous, summery ode to love, art and poetry’ Hephzibah Anderson, Mail on Sunday

‘Rich, deeply moving and filled with hope. Sarah Winman is one of the greatest storytellers of our time’ Joanna Cannon, author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep

‘A gorgeous, generous story of kind hearts and kindred spirits … [A] hopeful, happy, intensely humane novel’ Daily Mirror

‘Readers will want to prolong the pleasure of Sarah Winman’s beautiful novel Still Life for as long as possible’ Donal Ryan, author of From a Low and Quiet Sea

'Embodies the full generosity of the human spirit’ Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

‘Gorgeous … luscious and clever’ The Times

‘In Still Life, [Winman] emerges now as the great narrator of hope’ Helen Cullen, Irish Times

Heartwarming and inspiring

I adored this book! It’s a beautifully written story about interesting and complex people who share deep, heartwarming relationships. At times I laughed out loud and towards the end I cried real tears. It evoked a range of emotions through a simple story of people who love and support each other through-out the course of their lifetimes. Sarah Winman narrates her own book brilliantly and makes you fall in love with each of her characters one by one. The relationships between an old man and a tree, a grieving soldier and his dead comrade, a group of Eastenders and an Italian village, all come together under the Florentine skyline and an African parrot’s wingspan. It is both magical and relatable and inspired me to book a trip back to Italy.

Beautifully Narrated

Story-telling at its best. I loved it. Some may find it very slow-going, but the narrator really brought the characters to life.

Missing it already

A beautiful sprawling history of a few lives well lived. The characters are wonderful and immensely likeable even when they maybe shouldn't be. Florence and a slightly less romantic corner of London provide the backdrop to show just how magical and full of possibilities life can be.

Poetic and beautiful

I loved every moment of this wonderful book. It may be one of the top 5 books I have read.

The characterisation is superb, she transports you into their world. Wraps you in it like a warm familiar hug.

The narration is absolute perfection. Her voices are just right and very consistent throughout. I love how she narrates Cressy and Alys.

Did I mention I lived this book? I can’t wait to read her others. In the meantime I’ve recommended it to my mother and my daughter and I’m jealous they get to discover it for the first time.

The east end meets Modo di vivere

A wonderfully fulfilling tale. Humour, art, emotion, intrigue,pathos and an E M Forster finale. What more can you ask of a book. I loved it.