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This book is a masterpiece. I am absolutely in love with it. It is now rated up there as one of my all time favourite books. I read a review from an author who said "Oh so that's how you write a novel", and I completely agree. This book to me is everything and the reason I love to read.

This is my fourth Sarah Winman novel and I have loved them all. She has a quiet, elegant, subtleness in all of her books that just takes my breath away.

This story starts in wartime Florence, and moves though post-war England and back to Florence. It is about family found, friendship, art, life and love.

The characters in this book feel like old friends now. Ulysses, the Kid, and Cressy - and the whole cast and crew. I did not want it to end. It had me laughing, smiling at pages, tearing up in many parts, and crying (of course). I wanted to hug the book at the end. I don't think I've felt this way about a character since The Count in "A Gentleman in Moscow", or Cyril in "The Hearts Invisible Furies".

Published next month - thank you so much to @netgalley for allowing me the absolute pleasure of reading this one early. I'm looking forward to holding (hugging) a physical copy of the book soon.

Honestly, I will read anything by Sarah Winman. I have loved everything I have read so far and this was no exception. It was a wonderful character driven story about friends, family, love, finding your place in the world, and your passion in life. It started off a little slow, but once I got into it, I was so taken by the writing, the descriptions, the characters, everything. A beautiful book about the magic in every day life, Winman is a master storyteller and has once again given me characters that will stay with me for a long time.