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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
ANOTHER DNF for this year! I just couldn't get through it. I tried and tried, but found I just couldn't do it. There's a lot written in here that wouldn't fly if written in today's times, and I get that, but I think most of my dislike had to do with the overwriting from Stingo's overly horny perspective.
Beautiful prose, but just like the movie, the story couldn't captivate me. I did love the discussion of Southern Gothicism and the history of the Jewish people.
In this book, the story is told by a narrator, Stingo, a 22-year old boy: in the 1st plot, he describes his meeting with Nathan - a Jewish intellectual, and Sophie, a Polish Catholic. In the 2nd plot, Stingo describes the strong relationship between Nathan and Sophie; in the 3rd one, the reader is told about Sophie's past in the pre-war Poland period, the concentration camp and about her secret (her choice).
A movie was made based on this book with Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Peter MacNicol and directed by Alan J. Pakula.
5* Sophie's Choice
3* Lie Down in Darkness
TR The Confessions of Nat Turner
A movie was made based on this book with Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Peter MacNicol and directed by Alan J. Pakula.
5* Sophie's Choice
3* Lie Down in Darkness
TR The Confessions of Nat Turner
I can't believe anyone thought this book was worth writing or that anyone thinks this book is worth reading. I am so glad it's over. It was essentially a sex-crazed young man's fantasy about screwing a beautiful Polish woman, with some side commentary on her very sad past. But mostly sex.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Incredibly powerful.
Stingo is a young man who has the whole world in front of him!
He leaves his home in the south and heads to New York City where he plans to pursue his dream of becoming a novelist.
In NYC becomes friends with the charismatic Nathan and the gorgeous Sophie. Sophie, the things Stingo's dreams are made of! Nathan and Sophie are dating and Stingo first meets them because he can hear the sounds of their rather-loud lovemaking in the room above his.
In his first encounter with them, Nathan seems wild and out of control - clearly upset and saying shocking things. However, Nathan and Sophie apologize and while Stingo has a feeling in the back of mind something is not quite right, they are able to easily befriend him; mostly because of his crush on Sophie.
As they spend more time together, Stingo begins to learn about Sophie. Sohpie has come to America from Sweden, where she lived in a camp after being freed from Auschwitz at the end of WWII. While Sophie isn't Jewish, she is Polish - another group of people the Nazi's looked down upon (to put it mildly).
Sophie shares her story with Stingo bit by bit. So many heartbreaking parts of it. So much, she tells him, she hasn't told anyone else.
As Sophie shares bits and pieces of her life, we also watch as present day Sophie deals with Nathan. Nathan, a charismatic, well-educated guy, who seems to have moments where he just loses it. Things quickly spiral out of control and as much as Stingo wants to be Sophie's hero, he struggles with what exactly to do.
This story broke my heart. I just can't even imagine. This is now two heavy books I've read in a row and I'm not sure I can take a third one!
That said, I highly recommend it. A hard story to read. It is a fictionalized version of awful history that is probably more accurate than most want to acknowledge.
He leaves his home in the south and heads to New York City where he plans to pursue his dream of becoming a novelist.
In NYC becomes friends with the charismatic Nathan and the gorgeous Sophie. Sophie, the things Stingo's dreams are made of! Nathan and Sophie are dating and Stingo first meets them because he can hear the sounds of their rather-loud lovemaking in the room above his.
In his first encounter with them, Nathan seems wild and out of control - clearly upset and saying shocking things. However, Nathan and Sophie apologize and while Stingo has a feeling in the back of mind something is not quite right, they are able to easily befriend him; mostly because of his crush on Sophie.
As they spend more time together, Stingo begins to learn about Sophie. Sohpie has come to America from Sweden, where she lived in a camp after being freed from Auschwitz at the end of WWII. While Sophie isn't Jewish, she is Polish - another group of people the Nazi's looked down upon (to put it mildly).
Sophie shares her story with Stingo bit by bit. So many heartbreaking parts of it. So much, she tells him, she hasn't told anyone else.
As Sophie shares bits and pieces of her life, we also watch as present day Sophie deals with Nathan. Nathan, a charismatic, well-educated guy, who seems to have moments where he just loses it. Things quickly spiral out of control and as much as Stingo wants to be Sophie's hero, he struggles with what exactly to do.
This story broke my heart. I just can't even imagine. This is now two heavy books I've read in a row and I'm not sure I can take a third one!
That said, I highly recommend it. A hard story to read. It is a fictionalized version of awful history that is probably more accurate than most want to acknowledge.
The stories are fascinating and moving, but I didn't like the way in which it was told. The narrator is kind of meh sometimes and I wish there had been less focus on him and his internal musings.
This was a little too much Freud for my liking. But the story is very good, as is the writing. I read this for research and found myself being drawn in by the naivete of the narrator and the other characters as well.
this was honestly quite difficult to get through: not only because it was 500 pages, but because it was kind of tedious to get through at times. i read it because it's been on my to-read list for a really long time (even though i already knew what sophie's choice was even before i'd started). there's also a surprising lot of sexually explicit content that i suppose we could've done without (not that i minded; just felt quite gratuitous after a while). i gave it 4/5 stars because i didn't see the ending coming, it dealt with several important issues, and the characters are all kind of a mess for various reasons.