Sophie's Choice: A Novel (Open Road)

The book was easy reading. The plot made you think about a time in our world that wasn't so good. This should remind us that it should never happen again. Somehow I thought it would end differently.

I have heard about this book for years and finally decided to read it. The story was a bit slow at times but I liked the way Styron only gave up parts of Sophie,s story at a time. It would not have the same impact if it was told all at once. It made me see how tragedy and guilt from the past will forever color your present life. Very touching story. Even though it is fiction I would recommend it to anyone who struggles to understand the Holocaust and its lasting affects on its victims. But be warned you will have to be patient because all of the pieces will not fall in place until the very end.

I picked up Sophie's Choice knowing very little about the story other than climactic choice the title character was forced to make at the novel's climax. Other than "the choice," I did not know what to expect when I picked up Styron's work.

Styron's novel is quite different than most Holocaust novels in that it depicts the reflections of a non-Jewish survivor. Sophie is compelling for so many reasons and there were so many layers to her as a person. Some of them were in conflict with each other and Styron depicted contradicting attitudes. In essence, Sophie was so human.

I have not yet seen Academy Award-winning film; however, having consulted my wife who has watched it, the book has a lot in it that the movie does not. There were a lot of sexual situations I did not expect to find in the book and some of them were a bit graphic. None of this is a criticism (I found the interactions with Leslie Lapidus and his war-buddy's sister both quite funny); nonetheless, the book is probably not age-appropriate for younger readers.

Definitely worth reading if you have the time.

I read this book for a psychology class. The story is harrowing and is hard to put down. Styron makes his characters so real that you will feel that the story is true. Styron does go on at length in descriptions, but the nuances are not to be missed. They are delivered in true southern style will allow you to sink further into the captivating story. Sophie's life has been one harrowing 'choice' after the other. The story aptly described the horrific times of World War II. I think that this should be required reading for every college student.

I had trouble getting into this story, but once it caught me I couldn't put it down. It is a story of survival and living beyond our past. I so wish Sophie made a different choice at the end, but so is life. Good character development. A lot of description, somtimes more that is needed, but it finally all comes together.

A difficult read but should be done. Many people are ignorant about the horror of concentration camps or deny (for whatever reason) they ever existed. They are truths that must be faced. This book covers some of the whys of how these atrocities may have happened & the effects of them. Also a good look at families and how they might deal with insanity within them. Naivete/self centeredness at its worst. After saying all this, the book is hard to put down. What happens next? Why? How? Questions you have to know the answers to as soon as possible. Highly recommended.

I did not like this book. I appreciate the acclaim for the author but found the writing not to my liking. The story is very drawn out. The excessive pages to tell it reflect a strong preference for very complex sentences and with words not used in the common language. The three main characters are not very likeable. Over the very long hall of the total book the story is interesting but getting there is a slog.

A marvelous book. It reminded me again of the extreme savagery of the German army and German citizens during World War II. The concentration/extermination camps should never be forgotten. The attempt to wipe out the Jews, Gypsies, and eventually the Poles seem unbelievable today, but it happened. It can't happen again? Don't bet on it.

I saw the movie "Sophie's Choice" many years ago but had forgotten 95% of the content, though I remembered Meryl Streep won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Sophie. The characters and the novelist are brilliant. Sophie, a survivor on a concentration camp and a new immigrant to the US, lives in New York boarding house. Two men who became her friends boarded there as well. The story is insightful and horriffic, it bolsters one's faith in the goodness of mankind as well as its evil and vicious side. It was well worth the time it took to read, it was a page turner more often than not, but always interesting.

This is an incredible and haunting book. Styron is amazing. I can't believe his vocabulary. I made a list of all of the new words I learned. I haven't seen the movie and hesitate. I think it might ruin the book for me. I am going to read "Nat Turner" next. "Sophie," more than anything I've read or seen took me into the horrendous nightmare of the concentration camps. This book is a page turner, a psychological thriller and a powerful read. It is tattooed on my mind and heart.

My grandmother had an insatiable appetite for all things having to do with the Holocaust, visiting Auschwitz and some of the other camps. The horror of what happened there must have seemed so unreal to her that she needed to see it to believe it. After reading this book, I wonder if she actually had a friendship with a Holocaust survivor, because I don't think I could visit those camps, knowing of the lack of humanity that was exhibited there.

William Styron intertwines the story of a Holocaust survivor and her struggle to cope with living in a world of delusion and denial. This book is full of rich detail about how three lives in Brooklyn were affected by a decision made during the Holocaust. Mr. Styron spares no expense in detail, which at times one feels that they are reading a history novel instead of a work of fiction.

I never saw the movie and missed reading the book years ago - it sounded too sad. And it is: Sad. But full of history and gives a real understanding of a woman who had to make a horrible choice when young and ends up make a very sad choice at the end of the book. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys books that leave you with a feeling of, "I learned something and I felt something."

Sophie's Choice was a dark, depressing book about the aftermath of a Polish girl who had been a victim during the Holocaust. Her encounter with a deranged Jewish man who became her savior and lover is the premise of the story and becomes entertwined with a young American writer from the South. The book gets the reader involved in their exploits as a threesome and how their lives spiral out of control until the bitter end.

I saw the movie "Sophie's Choice" many years ago. I tried to recall parts of it as I read the book. As usual, the book was so much more detailed than the movie. In fact, there were times I had a difficulty staying with it as it was too detailed. But still a good read.

This book is overwhelming in both the beauty of its writing and the pain of its story. Yet it is one of my favorite books because of Styron's masterful writing. He brings both poetry and philosophy to this heartbreaking story of the intersection of unspeakable trauma and mental illness.

Sophies Choice is a book of disfunctionality on a personal level and on a humanitarian level. The story is based on two deeply wounded people, Nathan and Sophie, who connect in the aftermath of World War Two. Each lives in their own pain, but bring their pain together, sowing the seeds of attraction and destruction.
I gave this book five stars for the anticipation of the lovers and the narrator whose love for Nathan and Sophie leaves one too wonder of the outcome of a love between three people. And also the narration of Auschwich.

Gfhunt

Styron's writing style is delightfully challenging. For those who truly love the complexity of the English language and want to improve their vocabulary, this is the perfect read. In addition, the content is very thought-provoking and will cause readers to try to find answers to some of the world's major troubling questions.

Styron is an unbelievable wordsmith in capturing the 3 main characters who feed on each other with tragic results. I like the movie but loved the book. Styron see the reality of the the three as if viewed through a microscope.

This famous book, a 20th century "must read" was a terrific disappointment. The premise is very good, but then the execution of it -- and the clumsy framework Styron devised to develop that premise -- are absolutely dreadful. The book is 300 pages too long, horribly over-written in every possible definition of the term, and so easy to put down. The Auschwitz sections were more interesting and pertinent, but those scenes are severely compromised by the naive narrator's adolescent purple prose which was, ultimately, too much for me. The ending was both inevitable -- and flat. I did finish the book, but it was a struggle. I really can't recommend this. I don't know how Styron (the justly celebrated author of "The Confessions of Nat Turner") could have made the decisions he had to make to write this novel the way he did.

Amazingly well written. I had read this book when it first came back and wanted to re-read it. The story is heart-breaking but so well told that, even though I had read it before and knew what happened and how it ended, I couldn't put it down.

Styron is an unbelievable wordsmith in capturing the 3 main characters who feed on each other with tragic results. I like the movie but loved the book. Styron see the reality of the the three as if viewed through a microscope.

This famous book, a 20th century "must read" was a terrific disappointment. The premise is very good, but then the execution of it -- and the clumsy framework Styron devised to develop that premise -- are absolutely dreadful. The book is 300 pages too long, horribly over-written in every possible definition of the term, and so easy to put down. The Auschwitz sections were more interesting and pertinent, but those scenes are severely compromised by the naive narrator's adolescent purple prose which was, ultimately, too much for me. The ending was both inevitable -- and flat. I did finish the book, but it was a struggle. I really can't recommend this. I don't know how Styron (the justly celebrated author of "The Confessions of Nat Turner") could have made the decisions he had to make to write this novel the way he did.

Amazingly well written. I had read this book when it first came back and wanted to re-read it. The story is heart-breaking but so well told that, even though I had read it before and knew what happened and how it ended, I couldn't put it down.

I lived through the post-wwII period that the story covers and can vouch for the accuracy of much of Styron's descriptions, a literary deja-vu for me. An enthralling story with an almost predictable ending.

Certainly one of the best narratives of a person's life during the second world war. The complexity of characters, the writer's first person narrative, the unbelievably beautiful use of the language, all come together to leave a haunting memory when you are done with the book. It is a long read, not something done in one sitting, but is well worth reading through the end.