Sophie's Choice (Open Road)
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Product Description
Daily Express
A compassionate insight into the greatest evil of our century
The Times
A compassionate, brilliantly written novel
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I throughly enjoyed the film and decided to read the book and it is even better, it is an extremely powerful story centering on three characters, Stingo the narrator, Sophie a Polish emigrant and Nathan, her Jewish lover. The story is set in Brooklyn, New York in 1947 and concerns the relationship between the three who are neighbours in the same boarding house. Initially all is well and they become the best of friends but all is not what it appears. It transpires that Sophie is a survivor of Auschwitz concentration camp although she is Polish. She is haunted by her past and by all the friends and family who did not survive the war. As the story continues it takes us back to pre-war Europe in flashback. It also explores her relationship with Nathan, a brilliant but unstable character with his own demons. Without giving too much away the story has a heartbreaking twist to it and a box of tissues might come in handy. For me, what gave it immediacy and such a haunting quality is that Sophie is apparently based on someone who the author actually knew and the reader is left asking how much of it is fiction?
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Many people love this book. Anthony Burgess included it in his "Ninety-Nine Novels" (Ninety-nine Novels: The Best in English Since 1939 - A Personal Choice) and it features in the Modern Library list of the 100 best novels (albeit at No.96). And you can see among the reviews on this page that many of your fellow Amazon shoppers hold it in high esteem.
But a few don't. And I'm one of them. I consider myself to be well-read in American literature, and have also read a number of other Holocaust-themed novels. For me, "Sophie's Choice" ranks as one of the poorest books in either category that I have ever read. A banal plot with dystfunctional, borderline-loathsome characters, all told in what must be one of the most grating, convoluted and....well....just plain bad writing styles that I have ever come across. Styron's prose is so awful that it took a Herculean effort for me to get through passages like this:
"I recalled once more (how many times had I summoned their sound?) the pellucid indecencies Leslie had uttered, and as I did so - the view-finder of my mind reshaping each crevice of her moist and succulent lips, the orthodontically fashioned perfection of the sparkling incisors, even a cunning fleck of foam at the edge of an orifice - it seemed the dizzyiest pipe dream that this very evening, sometime before the sun should fulfill its oriental circuit and rise again on Sheepshead bay that mouth would be - no I could not let myself think about that slippery-sweet mouth and its impending employments."
Now, if this sounds like your idea of "great literature" (and if it is, you're not alone) then you might enjoy wading through about 650 pages of similar prose. Me? I think it's just terrible, bloated, turgid and oddly amateur. Without a doubt, it is the worst 'great' novel I have encountered. I am totally mystified why anyone should love such a book because, frankly, I hated pretty much everything about it.
But a few don't. And I'm one of them. I consider myself to be well-read in American literature, and have also read a number of other Holocaust-themed novels. For me, "Sophie's Choice" ranks as one of the poorest books in either category that I have ever read. A banal plot with dystfunctional, borderline-loathsome characters, all told in what must be one of the most grating, convoluted and....well....just plain bad writing styles that I have ever come across. Styron's prose is so awful that it took a Herculean effort for me to get through passages like this:
"I recalled once more (how many times had I summoned their sound?) the pellucid indecencies Leslie had uttered, and as I did so - the view-finder of my mind reshaping each crevice of her moist and succulent lips, the orthodontically fashioned perfection of the sparkling incisors, even a cunning fleck of foam at the edge of an orifice - it seemed the dizzyiest pipe dream that this very evening, sometime before the sun should fulfill its oriental circuit and rise again on Sheepshead bay that mouth would be - no I could not let myself think about that slippery-sweet mouth and its impending employments."
Now, if this sounds like your idea of "great literature" (and if it is, you're not alone) then you might enjoy wading through about 650 pages of similar prose. Me? I think it's just terrible, bloated, turgid and oddly amateur. Without a doubt, it is the worst 'great' novel I have encountered. I am totally mystified why anyone should love such a book because, frankly, I hated pretty much everything about it.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an amazing book, I don't know why I didn't discover it earlier. Despite its size it makes for an enjoyable read and it doesn't take a very long time to find yourself reaching the end!
It is told through the eyes of a young man nicknamed Stingo, a Southerner, living in 1950's New York; his ambition is to be a writer. He moves into a boarding house (all the rooms are a bright pink colour!) and it is there he meets Sophie and Nathan and gets to observe their destructive relationship firsthand as they become friends. Stingo recounts not only his own life and everyday occurences (I found it quite interesting and surprisingly humorous to read his descriptions of Leslie Lapidus, a girl he meets at Coney Island, and the way he was impressed by the ease with which she uses swear words-he compares her to all the Southern girls he's met who play hard-to-get and have various inhibitions).
Of course I do not want to reveal any major plot points, I'm sure it's pretty obvious just from the title that a choice Sophie had to make in the past is eventually revealed.
Personally I think that the following are the main attributes this novel has and they constitute the main reasons for reading it:
-the story and the way it unfolds is excellent, it never gets boring; it recounts Sophie's past (sometimes she seemingly telling the story), it includes a few short diary entries and some letters from Stingo's father (these are just a tiny proportion of the book, the main style of the book is from Stingo's point of view) which all add to the story's interest and flowing narrative.
-Nathan and Sophie's relationship may not be something all of us can directly relate to but it is an accurate and somewhat scary portrayal of the dynamics in a relationship.
-the way it is written, the fantastic use of words, is rich, luscious,langorous and enthralling, it takes full advantage of the range of words in the English language, it is descriptive yet never tediously so.
-the fact that it is written from the viewpoint of a young man really shows through, it is humorous at points, more serious at others, yet it remains focused in that it realistically deals with the issues people at that age face.
-finally, I really enjoyed the way the novel kept moving forwards story-wise while digging into the past to uncover more details.
I highly recommend this book, it is fresh and managed to stay in my mind for a long time after.
It is told through the eyes of a young man nicknamed Stingo, a Southerner, living in 1950's New York; his ambition is to be a writer. He moves into a boarding house (all the rooms are a bright pink colour!) and it is there he meets Sophie and Nathan and gets to observe their destructive relationship firsthand as they become friends. Stingo recounts not only his own life and everyday occurences (I found it quite interesting and surprisingly humorous to read his descriptions of Leslie Lapidus, a girl he meets at Coney Island, and the way he was impressed by the ease with which she uses swear words-he compares her to all the Southern girls he's met who play hard-to-get and have various inhibitions).
Of course I do not want to reveal any major plot points, I'm sure it's pretty obvious just from the title that a choice Sophie had to make in the past is eventually revealed.
Personally I think that the following are the main attributes this novel has and they constitute the main reasons for reading it:
-the story and the way it unfolds is excellent, it never gets boring; it recounts Sophie's past (sometimes she seemingly telling the story), it includes a few short diary entries and some letters from Stingo's father (these are just a tiny proportion of the book, the main style of the book is from Stingo's point of view) which all add to the story's interest and flowing narrative.
-Nathan and Sophie's relationship may not be something all of us can directly relate to but it is an accurate and somewhat scary portrayal of the dynamics in a relationship.
-the way it is written, the fantastic use of words, is rich, luscious,langorous and enthralling, it takes full advantage of the range of words in the English language, it is descriptive yet never tediously so.
-the fact that it is written from the viewpoint of a young man really shows through, it is humorous at points, more serious at others, yet it remains focused in that it realistically deals with the issues people at that age face.
-finally, I really enjoyed the way the novel kept moving forwards story-wise while digging into the past to uncover more details.
I highly recommend this book, it is fresh and managed to stay in my mind for a long time after.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Tedious
This is honestly the worst book I've ever read. Knowing the 'choice' Sophie has to make but having never seen the film, I really thought this would be a good book. I was so wrong. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Bookworm
a very considerable achievement
Styron gives us in 600 pages a view of the life of Stingo in 1947, an aspriring writer, in the round - including his employment and love life - but with the centrepiece being his... Read more
Published 11 months ago by William Jordan
Dull, don't bother reading this.
I genuinely have no idea why this book is considered such a classic. Every inch of the story is long and drawn out, simplistic things are over analysised and too detailed and yet... Read more
Published 21 months ago by G. Jones
Close but too far away
Not what I expected exactly.
From what was an exceptionally interesting start (as others here have pointed out), the book becomes sillier and sillier. Read more
From what was an exceptionally interesting start (as others here have pointed out), the book becomes sillier and sillier. Read more
Published 21 months ago by K. N. Tole
What's all the fuss about?
I am not a fan of rambling egotistical and over-detailed novels so this book definitely wasn't for me. The first chapter started off well, but it got boring very quickly. Read more
Published on 17 Jan 2010 by V. Falconer
Boring
This has to be one of the most boring books I've ever read. The characters are unbelievable, there are too many unnecessary details, and the ending is shamelessly predictable. Read more
Published on 20 Oct 2008 by David Kelly
A deeply uncomfortable read
Although "Sophie's Choice" has been listed as a classic, I found this book to be a very uncomfortable and unsettling read. Read more
Published on 8 Aug 2005 by Mrs. L. E. Jones
disappointing
I was soundly disappointed by this book. The concept is great. The execution, though, is sorely lacking. Read more
Published on 7 Oct 2003 by Dog in a Flat Cap
You have to read this book!
This book is absolutely brilliant and let down only by the author's tendency to ramble. Once you've read it, though, everything falls into place and Styron leaves you with a... Read more
Published on 21 April 2001
The most moving book I have ever read
Please, Please, Please read this book. It is an amazing account of the lives of three people drawn together in New York in 1947. This book should be read by both young and old. Read more
Published on 31 Jan 2001
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