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A review by bianca89279
The Life and Death of Sophie Stark by Anna North
5.0
Holly Shit! What a novel!
Who’s this author?
WOW!
What a bloody original, simple yet complex novel! It was so unexpectedly good, actually, Great! I’m just blown away by it.
I’ll have to do some digging, because I’m very interested in finding out more about the creative process and inspiration behind “The Life and Death of Sophie Stark”.
I’m even more annoyed than usual with my limited writing skills, but I’ll do my best to articulate what I felt about this novel. It would probably be best if I let it sink in a little longer, but knowing me, if I don’t get on with it, I’ll just forget about it, or post-pone it to eternity.
“When Sophie first saw me, I was onstage”.
Simple introduction. But wait. It’s told in the first person by another character who’s not the presumed central character of the novel. Puzzling… I was instantly intrigued.
As we read on, through Allison Mieskowski we find out about Sophie Stark. The two of them met in a bar, where Allison told a story. That story will be turned into a movie - "Marianne". Allison and Sophie embark on a creative relationship, which quickly turns into a love/sexual relationship.
Sophie is like no one Allison has ever met. Sophie’s mystifying. She’s small, quiet and unassuming. She’s also blunt and dominant.
With each chapter, through different characters’ perspectives, we get to know more and more about Sophie: Robbie is her brother; Jacob is just a guy in a band whose musical video she directed and who’ll become her husband; Daniel is Sophie’s first college crush and the subject of her first movie/documentary; George is a movie producer. As if closing the circle, the story, the novel’s first and last chapters are Allison’s musings.
Anna North is a very skilled writer. With each chapter we discover more about Sophie, but we also learn so much about each narrator. I thought that was exceptionally clever.
So what about Sophie Stark? Who is she?
She’s mysterious. She’s straightforward. She’s unfeeling. She’s shy. She’s direct. She’s a genius. She’s a robot. She’s gay. She’s straight. She’s distant. She’s obsessive. She’s a recluse. She’s manipulative. She’s relaxed. She’s tense. She cares. She doesn’t care. She’s unique. Etc.
Is Sophie a sociopath? Was Sophie on the Autism Spectrum Disorder? Some of her traits, such as her tone of voice, and arguably, her inability to relate, fit the profile. Does it matter?
So many questions… so many things to ponder.
Some of those questions refer to art, artistic expression and even critique.
When asked what it felt like to have people talk about your movies, this is what Sophie replied:
“It’s like having everybody mispronounce your name, every day. And at first you try to correct them, but they keep fucking it up, and then you start to wonder if maybe you’re the one who’s wrong and that really is how to pronounce your name. And after a while you start to wonder if you even have a name. Are you even a person? Do you even exist? Who fucking knows?”
One could psychoanalyse the crap out of this novel. There is so much to take out from it, so much to interpret, which, in my opinion, makes this a brilliant novel.
I’m beyond impressed.
People, pay attention! We may have just read the work of a future Pulitzer, Man Booker Prize winner.
Anna North, I'm looking forward to reading your next novel.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Cover: I love the cover and the font, but I dislike the testimonial.
I've received this novel via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Hachette Australia for the opportunity to read and review this tremendous novel. Merry Christmas!
Who’s this author?
WOW!
What a bloody original, simple yet complex novel! It was so unexpectedly good, actually, Great! I’m just blown away by it.
I’ll have to do some digging, because I’m very interested in finding out more about the creative process and inspiration behind “The Life and Death of Sophie Stark”.
I’m even more annoyed than usual with my limited writing skills, but I’ll do my best to articulate what I felt about this novel. It would probably be best if I let it sink in a little longer, but knowing me, if I don’t get on with it, I’ll just forget about it, or post-pone it to eternity.
“When Sophie first saw me, I was onstage”.
Simple introduction. But wait. It’s told in the first person by another character who’s not the presumed central character of the novel. Puzzling… I was instantly intrigued.
As we read on, through Allison Mieskowski we find out about Sophie Stark. The two of them met in a bar, where Allison told a story. That story will be turned into a movie - "Marianne". Allison and Sophie embark on a creative relationship, which quickly turns into a love/sexual relationship.
Sophie is like no one Allison has ever met. Sophie’s mystifying. She’s small, quiet and unassuming. She’s also blunt and dominant.
With each chapter, through different characters’ perspectives, we get to know more and more about Sophie: Robbie is her brother; Jacob is just a guy in a band whose musical video she directed and who’ll become her husband; Daniel is Sophie’s first college crush and the subject of her first movie/documentary; George is a movie producer. As if closing the circle, the story, the novel’s first and last chapters are Allison’s musings.
Anna North is a very skilled writer. With each chapter we discover more about Sophie, but we also learn so much about each narrator. I thought that was exceptionally clever.
So what about Sophie Stark? Who is she?
She’s mysterious. She’s straightforward. She’s unfeeling. She’s shy. She’s direct. She’s a genius. She’s a robot. She’s gay. She’s straight. She’s distant. She’s obsessive. She’s a recluse. She’s manipulative. She’s relaxed. She’s tense. She cares. She doesn’t care. She’s unique. Etc.
Is Sophie a sociopath? Was Sophie on the Autism Spectrum Disorder? Some of her traits, such as her tone of voice, and arguably, her inability to relate, fit the profile. Does it matter?
So many questions… so many things to ponder.
Some of those questions refer to art, artistic expression and even critique.
When asked what it felt like to have people talk about your movies, this is what Sophie replied:
“It’s like having everybody mispronounce your name, every day. And at first you try to correct them, but they keep fucking it up, and then you start to wonder if maybe you’re the one who’s wrong and that really is how to pronounce your name. And after a while you start to wonder if you even have a name. Are you even a person? Do you even exist? Who fucking knows?”
One could psychoanalyse the crap out of this novel. There is so much to take out from it, so much to interpret, which, in my opinion, makes this a brilliant novel.
I’m beyond impressed.
People, pay attention! We may have just read the work of a future Pulitzer, Man Booker Prize winner.
Anna North, I'm looking forward to reading your next novel.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Cover: I love the cover and the font, but I dislike the testimonial.
I've received this novel via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Hachette Australia for the opportunity to read and review this tremendous novel. Merry Christmas!