By William Styron
The novel was published in 1979 by Styron. A brilliant book that takes you on a journey by Stingo, an aspiring writer who befriends the Jewish Nathan Landau and his beautiful girlfriend Sophie who is a survivor of the holocaust. The book is largely narrated in first person by Styron and ocasionally by Sophie when she relates her experiences in Auschwitz.
The interwoven lives of Stingo, Nathan and Sophie leading to their mutual destruction along the way; the vivid descriptions of the Holocaust camps and Sophie’s experiences being a Polish-catholic suffering along with the Jews are narrated explicitly in first person by Styron. He often alludes to Stingo’s own life and up-bringing during the days of slavery in Southern America leading to angry discussions between Stingo and Nathan.
Strong powerful characters whose self-destructive lives grabs the reader by his mind, following their every word, action almost wanting to offer succor to its characters giving them a respite from their chosen paths. Ultimately Sophie’s choice which leads to her destruction. A compelling read so evocative and beautiful in it’s narration.
The book won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1980. It was made into a movie with Meryl Streep giving a stellar performance as Sophie winning her the Academy award for it.
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