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Still Life,
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Peggy
agree - was going to rate it 5 stars until that end section - when I already knew Evelyn all this seemed redundant and out of place
Shirley Spangle
I agree! I loved this book right up until that section. It seemed out of place and detracted from the flow of the book. It kept me from giving the book 5 stars.
Fay
I completely agree, I can’t figure out why it’s there either.
Wendy Cosin
I strongly disagree. I think if it had ended without the last chapter, the book would have felt too sentimental. Ending with Evelyn nicely bookends the novel and ties it back to the beginning.
Rebecca
I completely agree. I did give it 5 stars as I loved the rest of it so much, but it very nearly lost a star for this reason.
Margaret Matthews
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Carolyn
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Kelly
I listened to it in audiobook form, at the same time I was listening to A Passage To India/ EM Forster.
That last bit is, I think, both a nod to Forster, and a clue as to what Still Life means. Still Life has two meanings, and Forster captures both of them.As does Winman.
At least that’s my understanding.
A Year of Marvellous Ways is perhaps even more deeply like A Passage to India, if that makes sense.
There is an interesting view of the depth of APTI on YouTube, where the case is made David Lean’s adaptation of APTI caught the essence of what Forster was writing about. It was missed by previous attempts to explain its themes. Maybe Winman’s Marvellous was misunderstood in the same way, so she wrote a lighter, more straightforward attempt with Still Life?
I would be interested to hear Winman opine on this attempt to look behind the curtain, as I might be completely wrong, lol.
That last bit is, I think, both a nod to Forster, and a clue as to what Still Life means. Still Life has two meanings, and Forster captures both of them.As does Winman.
At least that’s my understanding.
A Year of Marvellous Ways is perhaps even more deeply like A Passage to India, if that makes sense.
There is an interesting view of the depth of APTI on YouTube, where the case is made David Lean’s adaptation of APTI caught the essence of what Forster was writing about. It was missed by previous attempts to explain its themes. Maybe Winman’s Marvellous was misunderstood in the same way, so she wrote a lighter, more straightforward attempt with Still Life?
I would be interested to hear Winman opine on this attempt to look behind the curtain, as I might be completely wrong, lol.
Shifara
Yes I agree. It’s somehow spoiled the flow of the book for me. Up until that point it was a 5 star read for me. I had to skim read through the last chapter to finish reading the book.
Lynne
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