Super Short Summary

In Still Life by Sarah Winman, two older British women, Evelyn and Margaret, navigate post-World War II Italy, while British soldier Ulysses Temper returns to London to find his wife's life changed. Ulysses inherits property in Florence, moves there with friends and his stepdaughter, and becomes a parental figure. The novel spans from the 1940s to the 1970s and explores the lives of LGBTQ+ characters during a time of legal and cultural prohibitions. Sexual assault and emotional abuse are depicted.