STILL LIFE by Sarah Winman

Love comes in many forms, as does family.  In this case, we have a family of unrelated people, mostly—mostly people and mostly unrelated.  A London bar serves as the gestation point for most of this family, but a move to Florence, Italy, for some of the characters causes the scope of this family to expand.  Ulysses Temper (and, yes, there is a minor character named Penelope) is the main character who moves to Italy with his ex-wife’s daughter, Alys.  Ulysses and Alys, also known as “kid,” are not related by blood, but his parental instincts are much stronger than those of Alys’s mother, Peg.  Peg is the character who disappointed me the most.  She is supposed to be beautiful and adored by all, but she does not generate any charisma on the page.  What’s to love about a mother who sends her seven-year-old daughter off to live in Italy, even if their relationship is problematic?  Peg eventually marries the abusive Ted, but her victimhood does not make her more appealing.  However, all of the other characters are very warm and fuzzy, including Claude, a parrot who manages to make an astute comment on many situations, and Cress, a lonely soul who finds romance late in life.  Granted, Claude’s remarks, along with Cress’s prognostications and a number of unlikely coincidences, cause the novel to dip into the realm of magical realism from time to time.  No matter.  This novel is largely an ode to Florence and to close friendships that transcend age and geographical proximity.  The lack of serious conflict among the cast of characters also verges on the improbable, but their bond is an illustration of what can be, if not necessarily what is.