Reviews with content warning for War - Still Life

I had the luck of reading Room With a View just before happening to pick this one up and I am so thrilled that I did. It made Winman’s play off EM Forester that much more delightful (and made the time I spent with his incredibly unlikeable characters quite worthwhile). Even if you’ve read Room with a View, it’s worth re-reading before you pick this one up, just to get the full breadth of the conversation Winman is having.

That conversation and the (obviously well-researched) bits about Florentine artists, particularly female artists, as well as the over-arching conversation of how women must and chose to live their lives around men in a patriarchy (cleverly woven into the story) were heady contrasts to the relatively mundane passage of time memorialized in the book.

I, too, adore Florence. Like many of the characters in the book, I went when I was young, the city promptly imprinted itself onto my heart, and I have returned at every opportunity since, peeling back layers to reveal new aspects of my freedom each time. You would think that I would adore this book, too. And I did. For the first 250 pages or so.

Then, the action in the book just kind of petered out: the characters continued to bounce between the pub in London and the pensione in Florence, learning very little new about themselves and nothing surprising happened to them in fact. I am still not entirely sure why we all had to hang onto getting through through the 70s to achieve the ends of the book. Perhaps, on the heels of a Rachel Joyce book, I was ready to read something with a bit more action. Nonetheless, a lovely read that should be a priority for anyone heading to Florence or whose heart belongs there.

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kharcourt's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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frankieclc's review against another edition

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4.5

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sophie42's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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julied's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I really enjoyed spending time in Florence with these characters. There were a few things with the writing I wish were not there but generally I really loved this story. I give a book five stars if it is something I want to keep forever, a book I can see myself rereading one day. This was definitely a group of people I will revisit. I laughed. I cried. I learned a few things. If someone were to ask me if they should read this I would tell them all of that but warn them that there is an open door scene between two people who are fairly young teens. I don't usually mind an open door or two if it adds something to the story and the participants are adults. I can see where someone might not enjoy some of the fantastical elements. I actually did which is not typical of my taste. They are few and far between and the silly helped break up the sad a little. I found this story really sweet and it helped me appreciate my own still life more than I otherwise would have.

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mandkips's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

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I'm not really interested in reading this anymore. I know a lot of people love this book, but literary fiction is just not my cup of tea. Also, I feel that the lack of quotation marks for speech is annoying.

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asourceoffiction's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is a book about the passing of time, and the connections we make and lose along the way. But it's so brilliantly wistful and so utterly brimming with beauty, that it just pulls you in and holds onto you.

It did take me a little while to run with the style (which is a bit quirky but totally suits the story), but once I got into it I was completely invested. And the characters; my god they're the most amazing, beautiful, ridiculous bunch and they made the whole book. I particularly loved some of the more unlikely touches, like a parrot randomly reciting Shakespeare, or the brilliantly funny connection between Col's string of girlfriends.

I loved the small, intimate moments as much as I did the grand, sweeping landscapes and stunning descriptions. The story has sadness in abundance, but it has so much joy and wonder that it just made me happy.

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