Still Life: book review

Book author: Sarah Winman 

Bombolone alla crema, I devoured the book like it was that creamy, tasty doughnut of Italy.

It starts amidst the Second World War. An art history teacher Evelyn is traveling in Florence. An English private Ulysses is doing his duty in the war, in Florence. There is a place where this set of people meet, with their amazed eyes, drinking the beauty of Florence, of the arts that Florence holds, realizing that they were living the moment of their lives, even though there was a war banging at their footsteps. The book is a delightful home for art and love!

I didn’t read any percept of the book, so I assumed it was about the second world war and quickly concluded I wouldn’t enjoy it probably as this seems fainter than the WWII books I had read already. But the timeline shifted over the chapters pretty quickly. The book actually spans for about 30-40 years of timeline. 

We meet Evelyn, a woman who never ages. Who is so unconventional and attractive with a quality that soothes others.

Not all of us will embrace men, marriage, motherhood. Nor should we. We have one life…

But I enjoyed reading Ulysses’ part more. They were a cozy group of people. Claude, Pete, Peg, Col, Uly, and the kid. They were family, reading them was like being another member in their family. Claude is the wise guy, Pete the piano player, Col, well the one who swears more than he talks. Peg?

Clack clack clack across the stones she went. Hips swaying, arms swinging. Peg’s tune, right? And there it was again, that little churn in Ulysses’ guts.

Conversation started along in her writing. The writer did a good job by not including unnecessary explanations- making readers be a part of their lives, not a spectator. Also she used Italian cuisines to Italian phrases generously inside the book and it was left to the readers to google- which kept the pace of the book. I didn’t know the meaning of a lot of them, but I did enjoy the references and the language of the book was well defined to give a brief meaning to the references.

Very much enjoyed the unconventional story, where boy and girl were not forced to re-unite by the pen of the author. It’s a story of love, showing you that love is not binding, it’s what makes us free. Very much enjoyed the role of history throughout the whole book.

Will keep this quote from the book here. This isn’t the most attractive quote from the book, but it attracted me with all its simplicity and plainness-

The power of still life lies precisely in this triviality. Because it is a world of reliability. Of mutuality between objects that are there, and people who are not. Paused time in ghostly absence. Who was it who prepared the food? Who gutted the fish? Who scrubbed the kitchen? These are the actions that maintain life. Objects representing ordinary life reside in this space - plates, bowls, jars, pitchers, oyster knives. The shape of these objects has remained unchanged, as has their function. They have become fixed and unremarkable in this world of habit and we have taken them for granted. Yet within these forms something powerful is retained: continuity. Memory. Family.