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Still Life

2/13/2022

Author: Sarah Winman
Publisher: 4th Estate
Reviewer: Beryl Eichenberger
Sarah Winman is a masterful storyteller and in the two books (A Year of Marvellous Ways and Still Life)I have read she enjoys placing the aged next to youth and making magic with these relationships. She has a special way of celebrating age that is refreshing and plausible, creating characters that defy all definition and stereotype. Deliciously engaging you want to throw your arms around them and not let them go!
Still Life is centred around art, Florence and

post war Britain with a cast of characters as disparate and unusual as you will find. There’s Ulysses Temper the young British soldier from the East End of London, subordinate to the cultured Darnley, a source of inspiration and enlightenment to the young Private. Commissioned to assist with restitution of stolen artworks in 1944 they meet the 60 plus art historian Evelyn Skinner (Miss) on the periphery of Florence as she is making her way into the city to assist with identifications. There sparks an immediate friendship between the young private and the elderly woman, one that will traverse decades. In a charming piazza complete with fountain a chance, life-saving encounter will change Ulysses life and bring with it an unimagined future. In London Peg Temper is busy living her life and bringing up her daughter Alys, result of a love affair with a Yank, while her mates Cressy and Col try to keep up with her, all waiting for Ulysses return. A cheeky parrot called Claude, a van called Betsy, Pete the musician and you get the idea.
This is a book about enduring friendship, about the love and ties that bind over decades as the body grows frailer but the spirit soldiers on. It’s about crossed paths, serendipitous meetings and the curved balls that life throws us. It’s about recognising change and embracing it with humour and openness. Her characters are funny, fulsome and completely charming – quirky and with those endearing human failings that can drive us nuts or make you fall in love.
Throughout the novel the theme of art is prevalent- in all its forms, in all situations – to recognise that it is in a rainstorm, or a slant of sunlight on a shadowed square or a bright bunch of flowers. Brightly populated with this cast of characters, snapshots of moments are captured and then brought back to life in this meandering journey.
From the grey war torn London we move to the light and history of beautiful Florence and a community that is as colourful as the Tuscan countryside. The reader learns as much about the city and its people as do the transplanted characters (yes, Ulysses and his tribe end up there!) it is all written with humour and slightly tongue in cheek observation. Perhaps the message here is that whatever paths we travel, however misdirected we may be, eventually we will all end up where and with the people we are meant to be. Sometimes it takes a little longer than we expect but destiny will lend a hand!
A splendidly written book that will inspire you to visit Florence, tread the well -worn stones of a piazza and mull over a coffee as the moving picture of this world spreads before you.

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Coco Chanel: The Illustrated World of a Fashion Icon

2/8/2022

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Author: Megan Hess
Reviewer: Emelia Govender
“Books are my best friends”, Gabrielle Chanel confided one day to the writer Paul Morand.
Through Woman Zone I was lucky to win an Exclusive Books voucher as part of their 70th birthday celebrations in 2021🎉🎈
I had my eye on this stylish and whimsically illustrated biography of the Iconic Coco Chanel by Megan Hess.
This special Limited Edition book was launched in 2021 which marked 50 years .

since Coco’s passing and 100 years since the launch of her iconic Chanel No.5 fragrance
This special edition features a larger format, beautiful new cover and a ribbon.
“This book is a lover letter to her. “ Megan Hess
Discover the story of Coco's amazing early life, the iconic fashion empire that she built, and the legacy that the left behind. This is a stunning book for a Chanel Fan💗
Thank you @wzbookclub @womanzonecapetown and @exclusivebooks ‼️
#MeganHessXCocoChanel @hardiegrantbooks @meganhess_official #winningiscool #booksaremagic #designercoffeetablebooks #cocochanel #womanzonect

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Still Life

Hard Rain and Man Down

Coco Chanel: The Illustrated World of a Fashion Icon

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