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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
The narrator spends more time detailing how he tries and fails to sleep with a woman than he does on the titular action that is 'Sophie's choice'. This was an exhausting book to read, every paged demonstrates a fixation on race, there are many asides and interruptions in the plot that lead nowhere, Sophie is completely helpless and seems to lack all independent thought, and the author makes a lot of weird, unnecessary, and sometimes even gross decisions. For example, I will never understand why this description was included: "Normally the prey of an ever-unfulfilled randiness - as the reader by now must be aware - I became, during these mercifully infrequent seizures of morning-after engorgement, a godforsaken organism in absolute thrall to the genital urge, capable of defiling a five-year-old of either sex, ready for coition with almost any vertebrate having a pulse and warm blood" (378). WHY? One of the only books I can say with absolute certainty: I wish I never read this.
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
slow-paced
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
CONFESSION #1: I HAVE A MASSIVE LADY CRUSH ON MERYL STREEP
And it was because of this MASSIVE LADY CRUSH ON MERYL STREEP that I originally watched the movie Sophie's Choice.
Look at her.
JUST LOOK AT HER.
And it was because of this MASSIVE LADY CRUSH ON MERYL STREEP that I decided to read [b:Sophie's Choice|228560|Sophie's Choice|William Styron|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1356714742s/228560.jpg|2912834] after watching the movie.
My expectations were set pretty darn high.
I watched the movie, read the book, and watched the movie again just to make sure I wasn't going completely crazy.
CONFESSION #2: I LIKED THE MOVIE BETTER THAN THE BOOK
Yeah, I said it.
And I mean it.
So what was it? At first I feared I'd spoiled the surprise of what "Sophie's Choice" refers to by watching the movie, but that wasn't the disappointment at all.
The disappointment was that this book took me forever to get through because it was so wordy and drug on and on and on. The disappointment was that I was more or less bored. The disappointment was that while in the movie I found Stingo to be a wee bit dorky, in the book I absolutely loathed him because he was so self-absorbed. He was young and horny and not nearly as talented as he thought he was. The pace would pick up and there would be very interesting (not to mention heart wrenching) bits about Sophie or Nathan or Sophie+Nathan, and out of nowhere blabber box Stingo would start talking about himself, his feelings, his (boring) past. And I just didn't care. Then there was this business of him skipping around and acting like he was going to reveal something but then leaping to something different. It wasn't in a cool cliff hanger sort of way (because then I would be a-ok about it). This repetitive casting out, reeling in, casting out, reeling in, casting out, reeling in, etc. etc. etc. did nothing but annoy me. Stingo was odd man out. I didn't believe the relationships/friendships.
Maybe I'm just of the wrong generation. I want it all, and I want it now (right, Freddie?). I do not prefer to loll in the slow, Southern style of Stingo. While never returning to the South physically, he surely did not leave it all behind.
Honestly, it was shocking to me that he ever thought he was a true contender at all. It is shocking that Sophie was physical with him (I wanted to say intimate but really hesitate to use this strong of a word as it was his side of that story, and I don't trust him). Honestly I am hating on Stingo as if he is a real person who has done me wrong, and I should be talking about the book itself.
So, the BOOK. Sure, the writing was great, but it wasn't enough to satisfy me. Too many books of that time period had great writing. I needed something to blow me away, and the narrator (Stingo) really ruined it for me. Look! There I am back to Stingo.
THREE STARS
Star 1: Sophie. Sweet, broken, doomed Sophie.
Nathan. Handsome, exciting, mentally ill Nathan.
They truly broke my heart.
Star 2: The ability to make me tear up out of nowhere. To make my heart break with emphathy out of nowhere. And it wasn't all Auschwitz related (although quite frankly, if that doesn't get you, I don't know what will).
Star 3: Without the book, there would not have been that wonderful movie.
And it was because of this MASSIVE LADY CRUSH ON MERYL STREEP that I originally watched the movie Sophie's Choice.
Look at her.
JUST LOOK AT HER.
And it was because of this MASSIVE LADY CRUSH ON MERYL STREEP that I decided to read [b:Sophie's Choice|228560|Sophie's Choice|William Styron|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1356714742s/228560.jpg|2912834] after watching the movie.
My expectations were set pretty darn high.
I watched the movie, read the book, and watched the movie again just to make sure I wasn't going completely crazy.
CONFESSION #2: I LIKED THE MOVIE BETTER THAN THE BOOK
Yeah, I said it.
And I mean it.
So what was it? At first I feared I'd spoiled the surprise of what "Sophie's Choice" refers to by watching the movie, but that wasn't the disappointment at all.
The disappointment was that this book took me forever to get through because it was so wordy and drug on and on and on. The disappointment was that I was more or less bored. The disappointment was that while in the movie I found Stingo to be a wee bit dorky, in the book I absolutely loathed him because he was so self-absorbed. He was young and horny and not nearly as talented as he thought he was. The pace would pick up and there would be very interesting (not to mention heart wrenching) bits about Sophie or Nathan or Sophie+Nathan, and out of nowhere blabber box Stingo would start talking about himself, his feelings, his (boring) past. And I just didn't care. Then there was this business of him skipping around and acting like he was going to reveal something but then leaping to something different. It wasn't in a cool cliff hanger sort of way (because then I would be a-ok about it). This repetitive casting out, reeling in, casting out, reeling in, casting out, reeling in, etc. etc. etc. did nothing but annoy me. Stingo was odd man out. I didn't believe the relationships/friendships.
Maybe I'm just of the wrong generation. I want it all, and I want it now (right, Freddie?). I do not prefer to loll in the slow, Southern style of Stingo. While never returning to the South physically, he surely did not leave it all behind.
Honestly, it was shocking to me that he ever thought he was a true contender at all. It is shocking that Sophie was physical with him (I wanted to say intimate but really hesitate to use this strong of a word as it was his side of that story, and I don't trust him). Honestly I am hating on Stingo as if he is a real person who has done me wrong, and I should be talking about the book itself.
So, the BOOK. Sure, the writing was great, but it wasn't enough to satisfy me. Too many books of that time period had great writing. I needed something to blow me away, and the narrator (Stingo) really ruined it for me. Look! There I am back to Stingo.
THREE STARS
Star 1: Sophie. Sweet, broken, doomed Sophie.
Nathan. Handsome, exciting, mentally ill Nathan.
They truly broke my heart.
Star 2: The ability to make me tear up out of nowhere. To make my heart break with emphathy out of nowhere. And it wasn't all Auschwitz related (although quite frankly, if that doesn't get you, I don't know what will).
Star 3: Without the book, there would not have been that wonderful movie.
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's a heavy, slow moving book with sad observations about Aushwitz. It was a hard read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Sexual content, Violence, War
I went into this with no knowledge of what this book was about and it was a lot.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated