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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
Didn't finish--- it got too sad. I know, duh... what did I expect?
I had a hard time reading this book. But overlay I enjoyed it
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of the most stunning and impacting books I have read in a long time. The Styron used the English language to illustrate Sophie's deranged self, was just.. breathtaking. His characters were at once relatable and also so complicated, that Styron's unraveling of their personalities was enthralling. I had the most lovely time reading this book and would greatly love to go back in time, forget i have ever read it, just so i can have the pleasure of reading it brand new again!
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Simply stunning.
Superb writing.
Deals with significant issues.
Increasingly relevant.
Superb writing.
Deals with significant issues.
Increasingly relevant.
Book # 3 on my quest to read every book on the 100 best novels of the century list. I picked Sophie's Choice, because their is a friend's episode that mentions Sophie's Choice, and I always wondered what exactly WAS Sophie's Choice. And now I know. Other than that...I thought the book was a little slow. It was definately my least favorite out of the books I have read on the list.
(One of my least eloquent reviews ever.)
I do not know if I really liked this book. Now, before you hit me, let me explain.
These are things I did like: the writing, the complex narrative, her choice and how devastating it was, the historical accuracy and information.
The things I did not like are as follows: Stingo’s obsessive sexual nature and rants that rambled for pages talking about breasts, etc etc. I did not like the ending after we found out her choice, not the double suicide—that was kind of a given from the beginning of the text—but the rambling about the funeral and Stingo’s drunken philosophizing. I have been thinking about it and now I understand WHY the author did it, especially because he mentioned it in passing in the text. All of the bits that I did not like are put into the text to probably promote the idea that people are more concerned about themselves personally/to highlight the ignorance that many people (namely Americans and Canadians) had during the time. Remember the part of the book where Stingo is like: “I was eating a banana the day that Sophie entered the camp”? And then he explains the ignorance of the situation until the end of the war? Yah, like that. But, the author/Stingo never really got passed that I feel. So maybe Styron was making a point that even though Stingo felt pain, sympathy or remorse for Sophie (if you have ever noticed, it was only SPECIFICALLY HER and the people she told him about –this he mentions in the text) and not the others who suffered (as they were still virtually unknowns), he was still struggling with personal conceit and vanity. That maybe, yah it is all sad but really, I am still more concerned with my life and what will happen to it. Unfortunately, Stingo did not gain a sense of mortality from his interactions.
Also, I think Sophie was kind of whiny and pathetic most of the time—I found her REALLY annoying. I think the other thing I didn't like about the text itself was that it kept feeling like the author would gain random spurts of inspiration here and there. Like, he would be writing and say: LETS MAKE NATHAN PSYCHO… LETS MAKE SOPHIE HAVE A KID… AND ANOTHER KID… AND BE FRIENDS WITH REBELS… very chaotic, like he (Styron) didn't even know what he wanted to write until he got there. What is that called again? Lack of omniscience? In spite of all that I disliked about this novel, I think that is why I liked it, too. That it was supposed to leave an unpleasant taste in your mouth, to prove a point.
I do not know if I really liked this book. Now, before you hit me, let me explain.
These are things I did like: the writing, the complex narrative, her choice and how devastating it was, the historical accuracy and information.
The things I did not like are as follows: Stingo’s obsessive sexual nature and rants that rambled for pages talking about breasts, etc etc. I did not like the ending after we found out her choice, not the double suicide—that was kind of a given from the beginning of the text—but the rambling about the funeral and Stingo’s drunken philosophizing. I have been thinking about it and now I understand WHY the author did it, especially because he mentioned it in passing in the text. All of the bits that I did not like are put into the text to probably promote the idea that people are more concerned about themselves personally/to highlight the ignorance that many people (namely Americans and Canadians) had during the time. Remember the part of the book where Stingo is like: “I was eating a banana the day that Sophie entered the camp”? And then he explains the ignorance of the situation until the end of the war? Yah, like that. But, the author/Stingo never really got passed that I feel. So maybe Styron was making a point that even though Stingo felt pain, sympathy or remorse for Sophie (if you have ever noticed, it was only SPECIFICALLY HER and the people she told him about –this he mentions in the text) and not the others who suffered (as they were still virtually unknowns), he was still struggling with personal conceit and vanity. That maybe, yah it is all sad but really, I am still more concerned with my life and what will happen to it. Unfortunately, Stingo did not gain a sense of mortality from his interactions.
Also, I think Sophie was kind of whiny and pathetic most of the time—I found her REALLY annoying. I think the other thing I didn't like about the text itself was that it kept feeling like the author would gain random spurts of inspiration here and there. Like, he would be writing and say: LETS MAKE NATHAN PSYCHO… LETS MAKE SOPHIE HAVE A KID… AND ANOTHER KID… AND BE FRIENDS WITH REBELS… very chaotic, like he (Styron) didn't even know what he wanted to write until he got there. What is that called again? Lack of omniscience? In spite of all that I disliked about this novel, I think that is why I liked it, too. That it was supposed to leave an unpleasant taste in your mouth, to prove a point.
Wow. So this one isn't quite 5 stars, but it's at least 4.5. Maybe 4.75. The prose was gorgeous. And there was a lot of prose to admire in this tome of a novel. Although the plot was intense and captivating, it was the writing that really drew me into this one and kept me reading. This book is meant to be digested slowly but worth the investment of time.