Book Review: STILL LIFE by Sarah Winman

Still Life by Sarah Winman


"We just need to know what the heart's capable of."
"And do you know what it's capable of?"
"I do. Grace and fury."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The past month has been the most difficult one yet, as we went through loss and pain, as every family must. Reading this bonny blue book was a grace-full way to close it, as it seemed to shed a light: this is the way forward. It sounds trite but it is true, how I could almost feel my bruised soul knit and heal as I pored over this charming story of probably the most atypical collection of characters ever put together in one book!

It begins with a chance encounter between a young British soldier and a 64-year-old art teacher in WWII Italy. I initially thought it would be something like THE ENGLISH PATIENT, and while the two books both touch on lives enriched by art (can you write about Italy and not?!?) , STILL LIFE proved to be something uniquely different, for which I'm glad!

STILL LIFE is about all kinds of people, all of their hurts, and all kinds of love. An age gap of forty years is nothing between kindred souls, and I loved how Winman picked seemingly unlovable characters (those whom society might deem "unworthy" of particular attention) and made this reader care so deeply about every aspect of their lives.

The old man who talks to a cherry tree outside a pub and sees the golden goodness in everyone. The globemaker and his parrot who quotes Shakespeare. The ageing beauty torn between self-respect and a desire for safe conformity.

And so many other brave souls who dare to live on society's periphery, defying convention to form their own kind of family. Finding joy despite the cracked-open chests full of regret and loneliness, and thriving while living, recognizing "how sorry ran tributary to beauty."

We get incredibly intimate descriptions of Firenze as well, which never hurts! Perhaps the most touching portion of the book was about the tragic flood of 1966, which tragically killed many people but also damaged so many masterpieces (some beyond hope of saving)!!

"We keep going, we always have. We keep cleaning and when we remember to, we keep singing. And one day, we will triumph once more."

Winman cries: Look at our lives with love. She reminds us this is the first rule of art, and while there are many things wrong in our society (a big portion of the book is devoted to attacking the patriarchy), hope in the eternal in us lie in our poetry and passion, our museums and libraries.

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