raven_morgan's review against another edition
5.0
How do we appear through other people's eyes? This is the question that is central to The Life and Death of Sophie Stark, a book which revolves around the titular Sophie Stark - giving us, as the title itself suggests, her life and death - but without ever giving us anything from Sophie's own point of view.
Sophie Stark is a filmmaker. In high school, she followed the boy she was infatuated with, her camera rolling the whole time. From the footage, she made the independent short film, Daniel. Later, she made the movie Marianne, her girlfriend at the time in the title role. Marianne is the film that brought her attention, and eventually resulted in a big budget film, Beatrice.
It all sounds like the simple rise of a filmmaker, until you scratch the surface of the stories people tell about Sophie Stark. Sophie is a woman unable to relate truly to people face-to-face, and prefers to view the world through the medium of film and her camera, always a step away. More, all of her successful films have resulted from a kind of vampirism, all of them based upon - almost stolen from - the lives of the people around her.
We see Sophie only through the eyes of those whose lives intertwine with hers. Daniel, subject of her first film, gives us a perspective of Sophie as she was in school, and later threads are woven into her life by lovers, her brother, and her manager. Each of these people only ever sees a fragment of the real Sophie, and the stories and fragments intertwine until we can almost see the full and real Sophie. It's a very clever literary trick that North pulls off admirably. At times, it feels as though you are almost seeing events from Sophie's point-of-view, and then there is a cut or change of scene, reminding you that you are only ever seeing her through someone else's eyes, reflecting the only way she can see the world herself.
Sophie, at the heart of it, is not a likeable character. She is obsessive and detached, almost sociopathic in the way she feeds upon other people in order to show truth - as she sees it - through the medium of her films. And yet it is impossible to hate her, even as she leaves other people's lives in ruins. She is broken herself, unable to truly relate to others, and it is easy to read her films as a desperate attempt at understanding other people, and understanding herself. And when it is called for, she even feeds off her own life, sparing not even herself in her search for truth.
On the surface, the book sounds complex, but reading it is anything but. The switches between point of view happen fluidly, and through all of it, Sophie Stark shines vividly, just a step away from the reader, always just out of reach.
Highly recommended. North is an exceptionally talented writer and I look forward to reading more of her work.
Sophie Stark is a filmmaker. In high school, she followed the boy she was infatuated with, her camera rolling the whole time. From the footage, she made the independent short film, Daniel. Later, she made the movie Marianne, her girlfriend at the time in the title role. Marianne is the film that brought her attention, and eventually resulted in a big budget film, Beatrice.
It all sounds like the simple rise of a filmmaker, until you scratch the surface of the stories people tell about Sophie Stark. Sophie is a woman unable to relate truly to people face-to-face, and prefers to view the world through the medium of film and her camera, always a step away. More, all of her successful films have resulted from a kind of vampirism, all of them based upon - almost stolen from - the lives of the people around her.
We see Sophie only through the eyes of those whose lives intertwine with hers. Daniel, subject of her first film, gives us a perspective of Sophie as she was in school, and later threads are woven into her life by lovers, her brother, and her manager. Each of these people only ever sees a fragment of the real Sophie, and the stories and fragments intertwine until we can almost see the full and real Sophie. It's a very clever literary trick that North pulls off admirably. At times, it feels as though you are almost seeing events from Sophie's point-of-view, and then there is a cut or change of scene, reminding you that you are only ever seeing her through someone else's eyes, reflecting the only way she can see the world herself.
Sophie, at the heart of it, is not a likeable character. She is obsessive and detached, almost sociopathic in the way she feeds upon other people in order to show truth - as she sees it - through the medium of her films. And yet it is impossible to hate her, even as she leaves other people's lives in ruins. She is broken herself, unable to truly relate to others, and it is easy to read her films as a desperate attempt at understanding other people, and understanding herself. And when it is called for, she even feeds off her own life, sparing not even herself in her search for truth.
On the surface, the book sounds complex, but reading it is anything but. The switches between point of view happen fluidly, and through all of it, Sophie Stark shines vividly, just a step away from the reader, always just out of reach.
Highly recommended. North is an exceptionally talented writer and I look forward to reading more of her work.
siobhanward's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
3.0
I feel like I've read a few similar books already and this one was just kind of average. I liked the muli-perspective narrative, but I almost wish more time was devoted to Sophie's diary. This was a solidly ok read but unfortunately it wasn't much beyond that.
katdid's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this! A great character study. (Sidenote: I was kind of baffled how Allison always managed to be in relationships.)
neenor's review against another edition
3.0
I’d had my eye on The Life and Death of Sophie Stark since its release, but just hadn’t gotten around to reading it. For me, there’s something intriguing about books where the main character is never the protagonist - from one perspective, you feel detached - but from another, it feels like you’re learning more about the character than you ever could from knowing their perspective.
Because of its length, I think I unfortunately felt more detached from Sophie than inspired or interested. She came across as one-dimensional, when it was clear that the intention was to make her mysterious and enigmatic, which was frustrating. I’ve read some great reviews about this book, so I know that it can have a big impact on people - just not for me. Instead, it was enjoyable but nothing outstanding. I think Daisy Jones and the Six did it better.
Because of its length, I think I unfortunately felt more detached from Sophie than inspired or interested. She came across as one-dimensional, when it was clear that the intention was to make her mysterious and enigmatic, which was frustrating. I’ve read some great reviews about this book, so I know that it can have a big impact on people - just not for me. Instead, it was enjoyable but nothing outstanding. I think Daisy Jones and the Six did it better.
books_with_tess's review against another edition
Too tedious, long monologues, boring story, lame ending. Gave me nothing. Maybe I’m not intellectually strong enough for the message, but boy it was just BORING
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Bullying and Violence
mazza57's review against another edition
3.0
This is an incredibly well written book. I enjoyed the alternating POVs and the focus on Sophie as a complex individual. However I am not sure i find the brilliance that other people speak of.
daynpitseleh's review against another edition
4.0
I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I devoured this book. It hooked me right form the start, and I needed to know how it ended. One reviewer mentioned that it was "a negative portrait" or something to that effect, and that phrase stuck with me as I was reading this. It's a book about art, movies, not fitting in, about life and the impact we have on others. Told through magazine articles as well as conversations with people who knew her, Sophie Stark comes alive on the page. It's easy to see glimpses of yourself and those around you within the pages. The Life and Death of Sophie Stark is a gem, and I look forward to reading more works by this author.
I devoured this book. It hooked me right form the start, and I needed to know how it ended. One reviewer mentioned that it was "a negative portrait" or something to that effect, and that phrase stuck with me as I was reading this. It's a book about art, movies, not fitting in, about life and the impact we have on others. Told through magazine articles as well as conversations with people who knew her, Sophie Stark comes alive on the page. It's easy to see glimpses of yourself and those around you within the pages. The Life and Death of Sophie Stark is a gem, and I look forward to reading more works by this author.
nicolestep's review against another edition
2.0
An appropriate subtitle for this book would be "People from Really Fucked-up Homes Do Irrational Things When Not Thinking About Sex".
I loved the idea for this book. I loved the idea of circling around a character's center, but never accessing her. Seeing the different sides she shows to different people. Getting her essence but never an explanation. The idea would have worked well except for the fact that every single supporting character is the same.
Probably the most obvious sign is that every single character has the exact same voice. That's just tragically disappointing writing. They all speak in these long, rambly, compound sentences. Seriously, this author averages the word "and" two or three times a sentence. That style worked for me at first. But after four characters sounding exactly identical it started to grate. The only possible explanation for everyone sounding identical is that they all have identical backstories. They all come from equally fucked-up homes with one defining trauma in their lives. I just started rolling my eyes and saying "of course" every time we got a new melodramatic backstory.
Maybe that's why I couldn't care about the characters. The revolving cast of narrators all feel exactly the same and don't really feature in each other's stories until the last two chapters. (But I will say that was a really cool touch.) However, I just couldn't bring myself to care about a character whom I would never meet again. I got so sick of reading these people's traumas and revelations, because they all felt relentlessly insignificant.
Ok, complaining aside, there is an interesting novel hidden in here. It just needed more work and editing. It's a quick read, and the concept is really interesting, although not well executed. As a reader, I found Sophie interesting, but not attractive. I couldn't quite feel why all these characters were so drawn to her, although I can understand when I think about the story after the fact. I think it was her intense attention - the way she listened, the way she wanted to know everything without interjecting her own ideas or opinions. The way she made you the center of the world.
In the end, I don't think I would recommend this book. Wasted potential just gets me worked up. And unless you're willing to sit through almost 300 pages of sentences like this:
you're better off spending your time with another book.
I loved the idea for this book. I loved the idea of circling around a character's center, but never accessing her. Seeing the different sides she shows to different people. Getting her essence but never an explanation. The idea would have worked well except for the fact that every single supporting character is the same.
Probably the most obvious sign is that every single character has the exact same voice. That's just tragically disappointing writing. They all speak in these long, rambly, compound sentences. Seriously, this author averages the word "and" two or three times a sentence. That style worked for me at first. But after four characters sounding exactly identical it started to grate. The only possible explanation for everyone sounding identical is that they all have identical backstories. They all come from equally fucked-up homes with one defining trauma in their lives. I just started rolling my eyes and saying "of course" every time we got a new melodramatic backstory.
Maybe that's why I couldn't care about the characters. The revolving cast of narrators all feel exactly the same and don't really feature in each other's stories until the last two chapters. (But I will say that
Spoiler
the fact that this whole book turned out to be a documentaryOk, complaining aside, there is an interesting novel hidden in here. It just needed more work and editing. It's a quick read, and the concept is really interesting, although not well executed. As a reader, I found Sophie interesting, but not attractive. I couldn't quite feel why all these characters were so drawn to her, although I can understand when I think about the story after the fact. I think it was her intense attention - the way she listened, the way she wanted to know everything without interjecting her own ideas or opinions. The way she made you the center of the world.
In the end, I don't think I would recommend this book. Wasted potential just gets me worked up. And unless you're willing to sit through almost 300 pages of sentences like this:
"I could tell she didn't quite believe me, but she kissed me anyway and we had beef stew with egg noodles, and I read Emma a book about horses, and when I checked my e-mail that night I had a message from Sophie."
you're better off spending your time with another book.
wendoxford's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful episodic look at the eponymous fictional film maker. Her life (and death) as seen through the eyes of those closest to her - lover, brother, the subject of her first film, husband, her producer. All draw a difficult, unlikeable character of genius and, even in compilation, none capture her essence or even a pretence of understanding her. It begs many questions about how she used people to achieve her own ends and how her moodswings/mercurial nature were both her creative genius and her self-destruction.
The compulsive nature of the cleverly worked writing is that each viewpoint adds to the layers of a woman who cannot juggle - her life is myopic and yet her creativity spectral. The fact that all the voices/testimonies overlap to form a very real character but no detail is repeated which only underlines Sophie Stark's fragility, self-containment and her obsessions.
The compulsive nature of the cleverly worked writing is that each viewpoint adds to the layers of a woman who cannot juggle - her life is myopic and yet her creativity spectral. The fact that all the voices/testimonies overlap to form a very real character but no detail is repeated which only underlines Sophie Stark's fragility, self-containment and her obsessions.
melissatedesco's review against another edition
4.0
"Sophie was so often accused--rightly, in many cases--of stealing other people's stories, and now she was letting us tell hers." The Life and Death of Sophie Stark unfolds with the fascinating stories of the people who were closest to the eponymous main character and wraps up, quite cleverly, right where the title promises it will. Film buffs and book clubbers and American lit students should all find much to discuss about this well-crafted novel.