Event tickets > _PREVIOUS EVENTS > Sarah Winman

It may only be June, but we are confident in calling

STILL LIFE by Sarah Winman
 
as our Best Book of the Year!

Every few years a book comes along in whose pages you can become totally lost, and you can't stop reading it yet you can't bear to finish it - but when you do, you look forward to reading it again. This is one of those books!

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

Set in Florence between the years 1944 and 1980, Still Life is the story of Ulysses Temper, one-time soldier and globe-maker and sexagenarian Evelyn Skinner, art historian and possible spy. Ulysses and Evelyn meet during the war, on a Tuscan roadside, where a chance encounter with a hidden Renaissance masterpiece becomes a defining moment in their lives. With beautiful prose, extraordinary tenderness, and bursts of humour and light, Still Life is a sweeping portrait of unforgettable individuals who come together to make a family, and a richly drawn celebration of beauty and love in all its forms.

‘I loved this extraordinary, astonishing and exquisite novel. The story of damaged characters restored and repaired by the truth and beauty of Tuscany, as Florence itself is restored and repaired post-war and post-flood is beautifully told. A joy and a pleasure, my book of the year’
Liz Nugent, (author of Little Cruelties)


If you missed our exclusive launch-day conversation with Sarah, we have a special treat for you - it is now available to watch by following this link. Or you can simply choose to hear (and see) Sarah's brilliant reading from the first chapter as we have given that a separate link. Her previous career as an actor definitely shines through.  The conversation went for 70 minutes and it appears that dropbox only like videos of 60 minutes!  However, the Q&A was so good and really gave a lovely summation for the conversation so we have separated out the whole Q&A section to view HERE.
 
You can also preview some pages HERE.