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By Lynn · 1 post · 39 views
By Lynn · 1 post · 39 views
last updated Jun 20, 2025 08:37AM
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By Lynn · 138 posts · 54 views
last updated May 01, 2023 08:49AM
What Members Thought

I was very confused at the beginning, but, since I was reading it for a book discussion, I decided to hang in there. I'm so glad I did.
I loved this story once I figured out the relationship among all the characters. Who wouldn't love a book with a parrot who wisely joins in on conversations. The book is very well researched and I learned about art as well as a disastrous flood that hit Florence in 1966 and ruined so many antiquities.
The writing is witty and smart.
Looking forward to the discussio ...more
I loved this story once I figured out the relationship among all the characters. Who wouldn't love a book with a parrot who wisely joins in on conversations. The book is very well researched and I learned about art as well as a disastrous flood that hit Florence in 1966 and ruined so many antiquities.
The writing is witty and smart.
Looking forward to the discussio ...more

I loved this book. When I finished it, I almost went back to the start to listen to it again. I think actually that I am buying a printed copy (I listened to it on audio) because I want to browse and reread some passages. For certain to highlight some passages and dog-ear some pages.
It is a story of love and friendship; of chosen families; of Florence and art... I could go on. Sarah Winman's writing is poetic and literary without sounding smug. The narrator has a deepness of human understanding ...more
It is a story of love and friendship; of chosen families; of Florence and art... I could go on. Sarah Winman's writing is poetic and literary without sounding smug. The narrator has a deepness of human understanding ...more

A very good story very well told. Very accessible and very welcoming, like a warm blanket. It revolves mostly around Ulysses, a British soldier who is part of the invasion of Italy and in the process falls under its spell and that of Evelyn Skinner, an art historian helping with the recovery of the masterpieces secreted away near Florence. An act of kindness leads to his eventual return to Florence and with him comes a motley crew of characters from the pub in London where he worked after the wa
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I loved this book and it is best described by Pete, one of the wonderful cast of characters that populates this novel: "it is a ballad, about the young men and women who'd come to the city [Florence]. About good rising out of need, about love in all its forms, about kindness and looking out for one another...and about art." Like a fine wine, reading this was soothing and atmospheric. It was also about tragedy, loss, serendipity and a lifetime well lived. What more could you ask from a book?
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