I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Life and Death of Sophie Stark by Anna North Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson on February 11, 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Fiction
Pages: 304
Format: E-Arc
Source: Netgalley
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The highly anticipated first UK print publication of an electrifying novel which has taken the US by storm.
Who is the real Sophie Stark?
The Life and Death of Sophie Stark is the story of an enigmatic film director, told by the six people who loved her most. Brilliant, infuriating, all-seeing and unknowable, Sophie Stark makes films said to be 'more like life than life itself'. But her genius comes at a terrible cost: to her husband, to the brother she left behind, and to an actress who knows too much.
With shades of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, A Visit from the Goon Squad and Where'd You Go, Bernadette, it combines a uniquely appealing sensibility with a compulsively page-turning plot.
The first thing that I noticed about The Life and Death of Sophie Stark was the cover. I thought it was striking and there something appealing about it. I wanted to know more.
Unfortunately I didn’t want to know more about Sophie. This may have been a depiction of ‘real life’ but why do all the characters in the story have to have a thing for and have a relationship. She is destructive and the people know it. I wanted to know more about the other characters, the narrators of the story. It is their lives that interested me and not Sophie’s.
Sophie’s character, her personality are dissected by those who were considered closest to her. Who knew her best. And the progression of the story matches what happens within Sophie’s life.
This shouldn’t be considered a mystery, there are no twists and turns. Instead it is a character study. The clue is in the title, the life and death of Sophie Stark. And her life is passionate, it shows the pitfalls of love, and how destructive someone can be even to the ones they love.
I just wished I had cared more. Everyone in the story seemed to be sucked into Sophie’s life, but I was left a bystander. And not really sure what ‘I got’ from The Life and Death of Sophie Stark. Maybe I’m missing something?
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