I’m not sure which is more beautiful: the cover of this book or the writing, but it’s a one you’ll want to hold as well as savor. 

It took a bit of time to fully get into and to appreciate the characters and their relationships, but it’s worth taking your time through the first 50 or 100 pages— just enjoy meeting them and figuring out how their lives intertwine.

The story starts in Tuscany in 1944 where an English soldier, Ulysses Temper and his unit Captain Darnley meet middle-aged Evelyn Skinner, who is trying to salvage artwork in wartorn cities. This opening section of 50 pages establishes the importance of Tuscany and of Florence and of artwork, though the next section switches to Ulysses’ postwar  return to London and the pub where his friends and neighbors mill about. They are a cast of interesting characters, including a talking parrot, committed to each other in a way that few people seem to be today.

Sometimes a detail is unnoticeably tucked into a sentence that requires a reread to appreciate its importance, and those rereads made me realize how much Sarah Winman can say about a person in such subtle ways.

The contrast of life revolving around a  London pub vs life among the art and artistry of Florence accentuates the physical differences of these two settings, yet love, family, and camaraderie transcends them. 

At 450 pages spanning almost 40 years, one might expect a dramatic story arc, but really this is lots of small stories showing ordinary human experiences. Winman’s writing is so poetic that even death and loss feel beautiful. 

The Washington Post book blurb describes the story as “unfurling with no more hurry than a Saturday night among old friends,” which feels like a perfect description. 

It was also a 10 day escape from our chaotic world of hate toward allies and respect for war criminals. A world where inclusion and kindness = weak and woke, but exclusion and bullying = power. 

Books like this remind me that humanity can = goodness.