Still Life Audiobook By Sarah Winman cover art

Still Life

A Novel

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Still Life

By: Sarah Winman
Narrated by: Sarah Winman
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A Good Morning America Book Club Pick | A Veranda Magazine Book Club Pick

A captivating, bighearted, richly tapestried story of people brought together by love, war, art, flood, and the ghost of E. M. Forster, by the celebrated author of Tin Man.

Tuscany, 1944: As Allied troops advance and bombs fall around deserted villages, a young English soldier, Ulysses Temper, finds himself in the wine cellar of a deserted villa. There, he has a chance encounter with Evelyn Skinner, a middle-aged art historian who has come to Italy to salvage paintings from the ruins and recall long-forgotten memories of her own youth. In each other, Ulysses and Evelyn find a kindred spirit amidst the rubble of war-torn Italy, and set off on a course of events that will shape Ulysses's life for the next four decades.

As Ulysses returns home to London, re-immersing himself in his crew at The Stoat and Parot—a motley mix of pub crawlers and eccentrics—he carries his time in Italy with him. And when an unexpected inheritance brings him back to where it all began, Ulysses knows better than to tempt fate, and returns to the Tuscan hills.

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 deeply drawn celebration of beauty and love in all its forms.

©2021 Sarah Winman (P)2021 Penguin Audio 20th Century Family Life Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt Witty Thought-Provoking

Critic reviews

Winner of the InWords Literary Award

A Good Morning America Book Club Pick

A Veranda Magazine Book Club Pick

A Parade Best Book of the Year

One of:

The Millions's Most Anticipated Books of 2021

Bookbub's The Best Historical Fiction to Read This Fall

Parade’s 25 Books We’ve Loved Reading This Fall

Parade's Best Book of the Year

Veranda's 25 Best New Books for Fall 2021

Lit Hub’s Best Books of the Week November

"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

“The incredible storytelling, lovable characters, and sweeping settings make this novel an absolute delight, proving that serious fiction does not have to be only dark and depressing.” —Real Simple

“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
Beautiful Writing • Vivid Characters • Captivating Storytelling • Emotional Depth • Perfect Pacing • Authentic Accents
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It was a slow start and I wasn't sure if I was going to like it but once O saw where it was going and some of the character development happened, I settled in and just enjoyed. Such beautiful writing. It's a true love story - about all the kinds of love - romantic, erotic, fraternal, maternal, paternal, early life, late life, etc. the characters are so lovable. When it was over I didn't want it to end and realized I didn't catch the beginning because it had been so slow so I immediately started it over and enjoyed it even more the second time. I can t believe it was read by the author as the narration was fantastic and diverse, as if by a professional actor. She does both writing and performing very well. Overall, worth the investment to get into it. Ut pays off.

So beautiful I listened twice

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This book was full of beautiful descriptions of the city I love best .
It had a great story that was very poignant and really interesting. The narration took you back in time to the end of World War 2and gave the reader so many great characters to watch through their lives. We were in Florence this summer(2022) and it was wonderful be there again - everyone had made it through covid and Florence had too
To quote Evelyn” Firenze,Amore Mío”

Loving Florence

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A beautifully written and performed story about how fulfilling and joyous life can be with the friends you choose to be your family. 10 stars

Magnificent

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I chose this book on a whim and I was not disappointed.

I was absolutely captivated. The writing style, the story, the character development and the setting of scenes were fabulous. So much life is poured in to this story. I found it quite moving.

It made me crave travel, friendship, good conversation and connection.

I will now be looking for more titles by Sarah Winman,

Narration by Sarah Winman was excellent too.

Beautiful and Charming

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Sarah Winman has managed to not only write a wonderful book but has the incredible ability to bring it to life in narration. No less than 8 or so characters of various ages and accents and languages. I literally laughed and I cried out loud and loved the entire book. Her prose is lovely and the story was so touching and full

The most flawless and engaging narrator of a brilliantly written book

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The narration was exceptional and the writing superb! So few books have an older woman as a protagonist and fewer still have an older lesbian. Brava!

A masterpiece

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This book is deep and emotional from start to finish. The narration is perfect. You will fall in love with every character in this book. I’m going to read it again and again!!

Beautiful, just beautiful

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This is one of the best books I’ve read all year! I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys historical fiction, good development of characters and a little whimsy.

Fabulous story, brilliantly written, superbly performed

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best book and narration I've heard in a long time. thank you, thank you, thank you!

wondrous

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still life captured my attention from the very beginning pages. I love the narration that was just perfect. I didn't want the book to end.

Exceptional well told story, loved the narration.

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