Sophie's Choice

Rating:
Summary: Not really all that good
Review: I understand why people found this story to be so moving but ultimately it did not work for me. I found the narrative to be unnecessarily fragmented, and the flashes of absolutely brilliant writing that mark Stingo's early New York experience are virtually gone midway through. Instead of allowing the story to tell itself, Styron employs this rather omnipresent non-fiction-like voice to the passages regarding Sophie's Auschwitz experiences that is flat to the point of anesthesia. It is a mystery to me why he didn't allow the reader to learn more through probing and tense dialogue than term-paperish prose. And the characters relationships to one another are, behind the masks of blood-rushing passion, rather cliche and somewhat antiseptic.

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent. The best book I have ever read .
Review: I have read Sophie's Choice twice and both times I couldn't put the book down. This is a heart-wrenching, stunning work of art written in the most memorable prose I have ever read. I was sickened by the butcherey of the Nazis, amused by Stingo's sexual frustations, and deeply touched by the life disappointments of Farrel,the failed author,the madness of Nathan, and the torture, physical and mental, of Sophie. I will read it again. I am sure of that.

Rating:
Summary: I'm torn!
Review: I struggle with my final impression of the book, for while I was keenly impressed and moved by Styron's writing, I was equally puzzled by the narrator's obsession with all thing sexual: not that a 22-year-old virgin's preoccupation with orgasm is not legitimate, but, as a work of fiction, the elements of sexual description were chosen into the work by Styron, and I have trouble reconciling their prominence alongside the grander themes of the book: evil, goodness, guilt, survival, love, compromise, truth and the lies we tell ourselves and others to soften the blow of both the happenstance events and conscious choices we make in life. Sophie's experiences, as narrative, run a different line, and I see her sexual "liberation" as more of a rejection of the past and an attempt to numb her senses, and do play a legitimate role. Stingo's experiences with Leslie, Mary Alice and, above all, Sophie, however, strike me as Styron indulging himself at Stingo's expense. Stingo's "love" for Sophie is undercut by the degrading terms he uses to describe their encounter, and, ultimately, undermines his effort to lay out what would otherwise be a moving, insightful and compassionate work.

Rating:
Summary: I think that this book was excellent!!!
Review: I read Sophie's Choice for a book report for my level one 10th grade English class this year. We were given a list of books to choose from. My teacher also mentioned a few others that she thought might be of interest to us. When I went to the public library I looked at all the books that seemed to have any interest to me at all. In the end, I decided to attempt reading Sophie's Choice. I love to read, and I was looking forward to a challenge. Normally I can zip right through books that I find interesting, but this one took me about 3 weeks to read due to the fact that the way Styron uses so much detail. I tried to make a goal to read so much each day, but I never seemed to reach my goal because the book was so involved. After I started reading, I realized why my teacher had asked us to make sure it was alright with our parents before we read it. Styron is extremely good with details, but I think this book is a little too much for a lot of people in my grade and maybe even people a little older then me. I encourage everyone to read this book, but to make sure you are mature enough for the details involved in it. It deals a lot with details of concentration camps and also the relationship between two main characters. Enjoy!!

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, unforgetable
Review: My sister borrowed this book to me, translated into Czech language (this is our native tongue). After the first 20 pages, I wondered, whether to carry on with the reading or not. Styron describes himself in the first chapter, almost letting you wait for the storm afterwards. After getting into the story, I was trying to explain to everyone around me that they had to read it. I lived with, I slept with it, my mind was obsessed. Styron has a capability to be honest, sarcastic and at the same time to let you see the dark side of a human soul, which is in everyone of us. I am returning this book back to my sister, but I will purchase a copy, as this book has deserved a honorary place in my library.

Rating:
Summary: This book is "good" at best
Review: Sophie's Choice is a horrific account of Polish girl's life during WWII. Her life in the states is no picnic either. The book make you feel sorry for the girl one minute and makes you want to scream "Wake up!" in the next. Too much focus on her sexual exploits for really no apparent reason. The book drags before you can see what her choice was.

Rating:
Summary: One of the most engrossing, moving books I've read.
Review: I first read Sophie's Choice six years ago and have re-read it many times. I've often started reading other books only to become disappointed and abandon my reading in favour of revisiting this novel. The characters are fully-developed and are difficult to leave behind once you've closed the book. I was both haunted and uplifted by this story. I recommend it highly.

Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: I bought the book in the 80's (when it was very popular in Holland) but started reading it just a few weeks ago. A girl in the train told me she had read it over six times, because she loved it. I had difficulty finishing it, because I found it quite boring, slow, incoherent. I read the book in Dutch in a very bad translation, I wonder if the English version is better. Of course the topic is very important to be written about, but the mixture of scenes made it sometimes difficult to follow the story. I don't think it is the story of three people, it is the story of Sophie, and Stingo and Nathan are background figures that arouse Sophie's story but no more than that. I would have preferred a preface, Sophie's story and an epilogue. That might have given a better way to follow what was told. Concluding, after all the enthousiast reviews I heard and read I found this book disappointing and I will never read it again. Perhaps I will try to see the film once to see if that gives me a better opinion.

Rating:
Summary: Styron's Sophie's Choice will haunt you.
Review: I read Sophie's Choice years ago, yet I still feel moved when I think of "sophie's choice". I was fortunate enough to attend a reading by Styron. I had not yet read this book. The introducer for Styron told a story about her mother's reaction to this novel. The introducer remembered her mother reading Sophie's Choice nonstop, until she had about a chapter left. Her mother threw the book across the room in tears and screamed, "get that book out of my house now!!!" About a year later the mother bought Sophie's Choice again. In tears she finished it and then quietly placed it into the bookshelf. I had to know how this novel had invoked such an extreme reaction. I went to a bookstore that night. I now understand that reader's reaction, as will you when you read this heartwrenching, brilliant novel. William Styron's Sophie's Choice will always have a place of honor in my bookshelf and in my heart.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous, captivating, heart-wrenching, and unforgettable.
Review: This book is one of the most amazing books I've ever read, and it's a book that can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of their preference in genres. Sophie's Choice encompasses so many types of subject matter; war, love, desire, despair, insanity, poverty, passion, religion, racism, and thousands more. It's a staggeringly beautiful story that will stay with the reader long after the book has been finished. You will never be quite the same once you have read Sophie's story, and learned the terrible truth behind Sophie's Choice.