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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
I am upset it took me so long to pick up this book. I will read it again in my lifetime.
challenging
dark
emotional
I feel like this was several books the author didn't know how to edit into their respective parts, but somehow it all worked.
Why I Stopped Reading (after 17 pages and then skipping forward a bit to see if Stingo became any less insufferable; he got worse; I jumped forward some more; the whole thing got worse; I quit): Yes, 17 pages breaks my "10% or 50 pages, whichever comes last" rule for DNFing a book, but I skimmed more than enough to make a reasonable decision on this based on my personal reading preferences. In fact, I'm going to be bold and say that for any reader, if the first 17 pages of a book fill you with the degree of loathing with which this narrator filled me, it's legitimate to "DNF" the thing and read other books. Go ahead. Be free.
As for why this book and I will never be friends: oh my word, let me count the ways. Pretentious, prolix prose. Annoying protagonist. Wrong person narrating the story. Ridiculously graphic sex scenes that felt so out of place and exploitive of Sophie herself. I'm not sure how to explain why graphic sex feels so wrong for this particular story, but wow, it does. Wrong in a way that makes me feel as if not only Stingo but also Styron is exploiting a broken woman who needed and deserved better from both her friend and her author.
The story of Sophie's choice is powerful and wrenching and important (and Meryl Streep makes it what it ought to be), but the structure in which Styron chose to tell it is really not for me.
As for why this book and I will never be friends: oh my word, let me count the ways. Pretentious, prolix prose. Annoying protagonist. Wrong person narrating the story. Ridiculously graphic sex scenes that felt so out of place and exploitive of Sophie herself. I'm not sure how to explain why graphic sex feels so wrong for this particular story, but wow, it does. Wrong in a way that makes me feel as if not only Stingo but also Styron is exploiting a broken woman who needed and deserved better from both her friend and her author.
The story of Sophie's choice is powerful and wrenching and important (and Meryl Streep makes it what it ought to be), but the structure in which Styron chose to tell it is really not for me.
I didn’t like Stingo as a person but damn this is a good book.
challenging
sad
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:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Been a while since I read it, so I’m not fresh —I’ll have to come back here later to actualize my opinion—. Nevertheless, this is a book made to put you in front of our ambiguous nature as humans. This book is not an “answer”, but a situation, a complex case of pain, injustice, psychological trauma and reflexion.
This was the first Styron I ever read and I couldn't believe how fabulous his writing was. And then the story on top of that. I never use the word, but here goes - awesome. 5 stars + 5 more stars. All the stars there are.
In order to best convey the trenches of muck and filth that one must wade through in order to accomplish the gallant task of finishing this extraordinarily eloquent yet monotonous depiction of life and savage villainy that dwells like sleeping lion at the base of each of our human souls without exception, I must first demonstrate the depravity that could have been established in a far more simplistic - although, by no means without merit, given that this review was written by an average Joe who likes to read but had this book forced upon them through a book club reading choice that spanned the grueling length of five whole fantastical months of endless complaining to read - means, by articulating such a loaded but overly clear statement that ultimately, this book was not good.
And yet… I still don’t accomplish the beauty nor the pain of what came with this novel.
And yet… I still don’t accomplish the beauty nor the pain of what came with this novel.
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
such a sad tragic book but hard to get through