Still Life

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 

Winner of the InWords Literary Award
A Good Morning America Book Club Pick
A BBC Between the Covers Book Club Pick
A Veranda Book Club Pick
A Parade Best Book of the Year

One of:
The Globe and Mail's Best Historical Fiction for Fall
The Millions's Most Anticipated Books of 2021
Bookbub's Best Historical Fiction to Read This Fall
Parade's 25 Books We've Loved Reading This Fall
Veranda's 25 Best New Books for Fall 2021
Daily Mail's "24 Great Escapes"

Praise for Still Life:

"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. Unfurling with no more hurry than a Saturday night among old friends, the story celebrates the myriad ways love is expressed and families are formed. . . . Endlessly charming. . . . The novel never feels anything less than captivating because Winman creates such a flawless illusion of spontaneity, an atmosphere capable of sustaining these characters' macabre wit, comedy of manners and poignant longing."
--The Washington Post

"[A] winsome, large-hearted novel . . . [Still Life] pulses from the page."
--Entertainment Weekly

"A World War II novel that feels fresh is a rare commodity. . . . Constant literary surprises abound."
--Entertainment Weekly

"[E]nthralling. . . .  [A] magical, beautiful novel. . . . It is a welcoming, accessible read, heady in places, but never obscure, leavened with humour and good will. . . . It's the sort of book you will want to return to when it is finished, that you will want to never end."
--Toronto Star

"Sarah Winman's sweeping Still Life is a parade of small stories, intimate connections and complex characters whose lives illuminate the tedium and cataclysms of the 20th century. . . . The real magic of Still Life is the elevation of the ordinary, the unabashed consecration of human experiences. . . . Sentence after sentence, character by character, Still Life becomes poetry."
--New York Times Book Review

"This sweeping, historical tale brings together an unlikely group of friends--a young English soldier, an aging art historian, a pub owner, a pianist and more--in an epic set against the backdrop of mid-to-late-20th-century Florence."
--USA Today

"A richly textured novel that covers four decades and moves seamlessly between the wonder of Tuscany and the bleakness of postwar London. . . . A buoyant book about joy, love, friendship, goodwill, humanity, laughter, art--and the processes of living."
--Jamie Portman, Post Media

"The incredible storytelling, lovable characters, and sweeping settings make this novel an absolute delight."
--Real Simple

"From its opening pages Still Life embodies the full generosity of the human spirit. This vast, ambitious, galloping bear-hug of a book unashamedly celebrates love in all its many forms. Love of art, love of strangers, love of a good glass of Italian wine and a bowl of pasta cooked with enough salt to taste like the sea. Love of stories. Love of love."
--Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Miss Benson's Beetle

"I loved this extraordinary, astonishing and exquisite novel. The story of damaged characters restored and repaired by the truth and beauty of Tuscany, as Florence itself is restored and repaired post-war and post-flood is beautifully told. A joy and a pleasure, my book of the year."
--Liz Nugent, author of Little Cruelties

"Still Life is simultaneously expansive and intimate, a heady brew of disasters, both natural and manmade, of death and life, of the power of great art and, most especially, the resonance of those loves we carry for a lifetime. A truly spectacular achievement. I've never read anything quite like it." 
--Karen Joy Fowler, author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

"The kind of story that makes your heart full. I fell so in love with these characters that it felt as if they were my dearest friends, and that's the best sort of book to fall into."
--Jenny Lawson, author of Broken and Let's Pretend This Never Happened

"Still Life is a playful, Maupinesque exploration of the elective family and its possibilities. Four course nourishment for all Winman fans, it harnesses big hearted storytelling to a dizzying historical sweep to celebrate love in all the available colours."
--Patrick Gale, author of Take Nothing With You
 
"This book saved my soul during these very strange times. I loved every word, every sentence, every beat. It's about love and our defining moments, and it is utterly beautiful. The characters and places now live in my own memory - to be cherished forever."
--Favel Parrett, author of Past the Shallows

"Readers will want to prolong the pleasure of Sarah Winman's beautiful novel Still Life for as long as possible. It is a book to get lost in, the kind of story that bolsters the heart and soul. I loved it."
--Donal Ryan, author of From a Low and Quiet Sea

"Oh my goodness, I have just finished it! An utterly beautiful story, so generous, rich, deeply moving and filled with hope. Sarah Winman is a genius and one of the greatest storytellers of our time. I remember reading it, When God Was A Rabbit all those years ago and being in complete awe of her, thinking 'I wonder if I could do this too?', so Sarah Winman is why I write!"
--Joanna Cannon, author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep

"I simply sank into this book every night. A must-read if you're a Florence-o-phile."
--Donovan Bixley, bestselling author of Much Ado About Shakespeare

"Exquisite. . . . There are not enough superlatives to contain the magnitude and beauty of this novel. It explores the very foundations of the meaning of family; is it really a collective gene pool or does the heart of family mean something else entirely? . . . It's a celebration of beauty, a story of . . . 'Continuity. Memory. Family.' It is, above all, a testament to love." 
--The Irish Independent

"Moving, wise, poetic and funny, this book is pure sunshine." 
--Daily Mail (UK)

"A gorgeous, generous story of kind hearts and kindred spirits redefining the meaning of family and friendship. . . . [A] hopeful, happy, intensely humane novel." 
--Daily Mirror (UK)

"Teeming with unforgettable characters and oozing atmosphere, it's a joyous, summery ode to love, art and poetry, to wild bets, E. M. Forster and sharp dressing." 
--Mail on Sunday (UK)

"There are so many layers in this story, so many people to love. . . . What a beautiful, epic tale. Its humour and depictions of the best of human relationships will stay with you forever."
--The New Zealand Herald

"Her previous novels have shown Winman as one of the greatest chroniclers of grief. . . . In Still Life, she emerges now as the great narrator of hope." 
--Irish Times

"Criss-crossing between London and Florence, Winman's pages teem with boisterous, exuberant life. . . . The novel has verve, charm and tremendous heart."
--Sunday Times (UK)

"Touching, witty and very evocative of a post-war world."
--Independent (UK)
 
"With beautiful prose, extraordinary tenderness, and bursts of humor and light, Still Life is a sweeping portrait of unforgettable individuals who come together to make a family, and a richly drawn celebration of beauty and love in all its forms."
-The Florentine 

"If you can't resist historical fiction that's also a romance story, you're going to love Winman's latest novel Still Life. The book explores themes like family, friendship, and love all to the backdrop of a war-torn Europe and its political unravelings. It isn't hard to see why this novel holds the title of The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller; Winman's brilliant celebration of life's light and dark moments delivers a gripping, perceptive read."
--Daily Mail (UK)

"In a novel as rich and alluring as a glass of Chianti--and there's a lot of Chianti in this novel--Evelyn, a middle-aged art historian, and Ulysses, a soldier, hunker down in Tuscany near the end of World War II, crossing paths with E.M. Forster and other Italophiles. The legacy of their unexpected friendship highlights Winman's grand theme: Art is the torch we carry in darkness."
--Oprah Daily

"The sheer joy in Sarah Winman's storytelling is completely infectious."
-Graham Norton

"A character-driven story about chance encounters that lead to found family, and about feminism and who gets to determine what art is. . . . [It] is also about mothering (which one doesn't have to be a woman to do, Winman notes) versus motherhood. And about love and passion and finding pleasure in life by being exactly the person one is meant to be."
-Publishers Weekly 

"Glorious. . .This luscious and clever book is at first glance simply a rollicking summer read. . .It's a joy to witness several different thoroughly believable models of how lives can be resurrected and changed for the better." 
-The Times (UK)

"In this thoroughly warm, witty, entertaining, and character-driven novel spanning decades, Winman shares bighearted ideas about friendship, love, art, and community. . . . It is hard to envision a reader who won't be smitten by Winman's characters and their banter, like old Cressy, who takes his advice from a tree, and Claude, the blue parrot who may be Shakespeare reincarnated. These lives may not be the stuff of legend, but they are still life."
--Booklist (starred review)

"A love story to Florence and a love story to love-romantic, platonic, familial, parental, friend, community, Sapphic, and gay love are all celebrated."
-Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Still Life by Sarah Winman is a wonderfully imagined world. . . . [T]he writing is superior, the characters all very real, the story is engaging and ultimately it is a novel that reflects life in all its joy, sorrow, and messiness."
--Charlotte Stein, Parry Sound North Star

"It is art that fires the imagination of almost every character in this novel and Winman writes about it with an assured pen, never swamping the reader in unnecessary technicalities. . . . There are not enough superlatives to contain the magnitude and beauty of this novel. . . . Besides being a story of ordinary lives surrounded by extraordinary art, it manages to be a short, extremely entertaining encyclopedia of Italian, and in particular Florentine, art history. It is, above all, a testament to love."
--StyleBlueprint

"One of the sunniest, most transporting, and already beloved novels of the past year."
--Daily Mail (UK)

"Still Life . . . is utterly delightful, the cast of eccentric characters leaping off the page, full of love and joy against the odds."
--Irish Examiner

"Real events and catastrophes frame and fuel the personal narratives. There's opportunity and heartbreak, luck, passion and food. This is a square meal of a book. Hearty and delicious. . . . This novel is an extended toast to friendship and freedom."
--The Star (Sheffield, UK)

"Still Life is a big-hearted story of people brought together by love, war, art and the ghost of E.M. Forster."
--The Southern Star

"Sarah Winman's novel Still Life struck the hearts and imaginations of readers around the world. Writing unconventional men and alternative families, bringing the light and beauty of Italy. . . to the page and making persuasive arguments for the transformative power of beauty. . . ."
--ABC Australia

"[S]weeping, richly rendered. . . celebrating love in all its form."
--Echo

"Still Life is, ultimately, a celebration of Italy, with loving descriptions of its buildings and countryside, of old women gossiping on stone benches. . . . Light yet satisfying."
--BookPage (starred review)

"Spanning decades and bringing readers from London to Italy, Still Life is a moving look at love and friendship as well as the power of art." 
--Bookbub

"A gorgeous, generous story of kind hearts and kindred spirits."
--Daily Mirror (UK)

"THE most beautiful book . . . it will stay with me a long time."
--Sara Cox, host of BBC Two's Between the Covers

"Still Life is a lot of things--a history of Italy in the post-war years, an ode to chosen families, a homage to A Room with a View by E.M. Forster, a reminder of the importance of art and art history--but most of all, it's just a really good story."
--heyAlma

"Still Life by Sarah Winman is a celebration of small stories, intimate connections, and complex characters. . . . It portrays unforgettable individuals . . . and celebrates beauty and love in all its forms."
--Forbes India

"Winman paints such a loving image of Italy. . . . The characters in this book are what really make it. There is so much attention and care paid to each of them--the façades they first present, the depths they sometimes try to hide, and the genuine, poignant friendships they build among themselves. Still Life is a book that has a permanent place on my "favorites" shelf; I will be reading this one again and again."
--Evelyn Skye, New York Times-bestselling author of One Year Ago in Spain