Still Life by Sarah Winman is a happy book about love, loss and recovery in chosen family. The characters and places are beautifully described and create gorgeous visual images. Winman addresses the topics of age differences and gender attractions well without making them appear false or contrived. She tackles difficult human stories whilst maintaining the reader's empathy. There was some criticism of the back story at the end, although some felt it was relevant and beautiful. "Still Life" - for some the book literally drew a picture, for others a feeling of the main protagonist being the still life within a group, drawing all to him for calm and restoration. "Time heals……….But still life in all its beauty and complexity".