Take a photo of a barcode or cover
alli 's review for:
Sophie's Choice
by William Styron
Sophie’s Choice was tough. Not just because it was long, but also because I felt like it was a book I should enjoy reading. I tried very hard to like it, to feel connected with the characters, and in the end I just wanted it to be over.
Is the book well written?
I did not think Sophie’s Choice was particularly well written. I spoke before about how I understand and almost appreciate Styron’s telling of the story as though it were Stingo telling the story of Sophie to a friend.
It still needed some major editing. When finishing the book, I felt nothing. Here I was reading about a woman making the worst choice any human being would have to make, and I had no emotional reaction. Am I that thick-skinned?
Styron could have made so much more of a powerful emotional impact, if he’d told the story in chronological order leaving out the plethora of unnecessary details that filled the pages. Instead of reading quickly because I was invested in the characters, I read quickly because I had hundreds of pages to go in this overly long book.
Does it speak about the human condition?
This is one thing I’d say Sophie’s Choice does well. The comparison between the Holocaust and Slavery in the South is fascinating. The book speaks about how human beings, time and time again, are able to commit horrible acts against each other.
Is it groundbreaking in some way?
No and no. (Yes, I think a teenage girl did a better job of writing about the Holocaust than a Pulitzer Prize winner. Note that Styron did not win the Pulitzer for Sophie’s Choice. Makes me wonder what the Modern Library was thinking. And yes, both books were published before Styron’s.)
Is it an enjoyable read?
Not at all. I couldn’t wait to be finished.
I was thinking of saying “maybe” as my answer to if Sophie’s Choice belongs on the list of the top 100 books in the 1900s, but after going through my criteria I’m changing my answer to no. How is a novel going to say something about the human condition when it’s written in such a way that the message does not make any kind of impact?
--via my blog, The Displaced English Major
Is the book well written?
I did not think Sophie’s Choice was particularly well written. I spoke before about how I understand and almost appreciate Styron’s telling of the story as though it were Stingo telling the story of Sophie to a friend.
It still needed some major editing. When finishing the book, I felt nothing. Here I was reading about a woman making the worst choice any human being would have to make, and I had no emotional reaction. Am I that thick-skinned?
Styron could have made so much more of a powerful emotional impact, if he’d told the story in chronological order leaving out the plethora of unnecessary details that filled the pages. Instead of reading quickly because I was invested in the characters, I read quickly because I had hundreds of pages to go in this overly long book.
Does it speak about the human condition?
This is one thing I’d say Sophie’s Choice does well. The comparison between the Holocaust and Slavery in the South is fascinating. The book speaks about how human beings, time and time again, are able to commit horrible acts against each other.
Is it groundbreaking in some way?
No and no. (Yes, I think a teenage girl did a better job of writing about the Holocaust than a Pulitzer Prize winner. Note that Styron did not win the Pulitzer for Sophie’s Choice. Makes me wonder what the Modern Library was thinking. And yes, both books were published before Styron’s.)
Is it an enjoyable read?
Not at all. I couldn’t wait to be finished.
I was thinking of saying “maybe” as my answer to if Sophie’s Choice belongs on the list of the top 100 books in the 1900s, but after going through my criteria I’m changing my answer to no. How is a novel going to say something about the human condition when it’s written in such a way that the message does not make any kind of impact?
--via my blog, The Displaced English Major