Still Life - Sarah Winman

This review is an outpouring of love for this absolutely stunning novel by Sarah Winman, a new author on my radar who has risen to critical acclaim of late with her Sunday Times Bestseller, Still Life.

This novel is an absolute jewel, a beam of hope and a moving portrait of the vast possibility that life holds. It begins in 1944, in Italy, with young soldiers Temper and Darnley. With nothing to lose and spurred on by adrenaline, Ulysses Temper finds himself meeting a wise and youthful art historian, Evelyn Skinner - then 64 - and sharing a night of wonder and hope with her.

Evelyn salvages paintings from the destruction of war-torn Italy and embraces every moment of life, remembering the young soldier for many years to come. Ulysses, meanwhile, returns to England after the war and finds himself feeling somewhat empty. Some years later, with his poetic friend Cress, adopted daughter Alys and a cheeky parrot in tow, Ulysses returns to Italy to a new life in the place which has come to feel like home to him.

So begins a journey of self-discovery for the modest clan, and a life which is filled with joy and love for one another. Through the years, Ulysses' and Evelyn's paths come tantalisingly close and they narrowly miss one another in squares, on bridges and at train stations. It is not until years later that fate does its work and restores the unlikely friends to one another.

This expansive novel covers many decades and nods to political and historic change across Italy and the rest of Europe, whilst peppering extracts and memories from the lives of each character throughout. Across the 450-page work, we come to know and love each character as an individual, and adore the cast as a unit. Winman explores sexuality, art, spirituality and the uncanny way that life brings about opportunity in this stunning and unforgettable story.