No reader of sophie s choice can doubt that styron has put immense energy into trying to understand and deal justly with the evils in american history and the european holocaust, to say nothing of the evil as well as the good in his charactersscene after scene comes back now, long after i last read the book, with astonishing vividness. American book award, the legion dhonneur, and the witness to justice award from the auschwitz jewish. The scene in which we discover the facts behind sophie s choice is a gutwrenching one. Sophies choice national book awards fiction winners. Sophie s choice is centered on a scene in auschwitz where sophie has just arrived with her tenyear old son and her sevenyear old daughter and a sadistic doctor, presumably doctor mengele, tells her that she can only bring one of her children. Sophie is the survivor of nazi concentration camps, who has found a reason to live in nathan, a sparkling if unsteady american jew obsessed with the holocaust. Sophie s choice is the title of a 1979 novel by william styron, and in 1982 sophie s choice was made into a critically acclaimed film starring meryl streep. Sophie s choice is a 1979 novel by american author william styron. Its both a complex love story and an indepth portrayal of a former concentration camp prisoner. Stingo peter macnicol, a young writer, moves to brooklyn in 1947 to begin work on his first novel. Sophie s choice is a novel by american author william styron, that was published in 1979.
The heroine of william styrons sophie s choice is a creature of such extravagant and contradictory attributes that it isnt always easy, while reading the novel, to imagine her in the flesh. In the novel, which is set during world war ii, the title character must choose between the lives of her two children while imprisoned in the nazi concentration camp auschwitz. I have very mixed feelings about the book as a whole. His books include lie down in darkness, the long march, set this house on fire, the confessions of nat turner, sophies choice, this quiet dust, darkness visible, and a tidewater morning. It contains the major themes of his previous fiction, embodying his loves of the south and of literature, his experience of war, and his quest. More than once in this smugly autobiographical novel, styron pouts about how his last book, the confessions of nat turner, drew accusations of exploitation, accusations that i had turned to my own profit and advantage the miseries of slavery.
Of course, the film feels longer than it is, and pakulas style. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards. Sophies choice movie tv listings and schedule tv guide. West iii this book first published 2007 by cambridge scholars publishing 15 angerton gardens, newcastle, ne5 2ja, uk british library cataloguing in publication data a catalogue record for this book. It is described as an american classic or historical fiction, though it falls squarely into the category of adult literary fiction. Eventually, we get to the mysteryto sophies choiceand discover that the incident is garish rather than illuminating, and too particular to demonstrate anything general. Sophie is a survivor of the horrors of auschwitz, and much of the story unfolds as she tells stingo about her time in poland before the war, then the horror of the camp. Stingo, the narrator, is a southern boy, born and bred, who moved to new york with the ambition of becoming a writer. Much of my inspiration for sophie s choice, fun and delicious mixes and treats, can be traced back to those summers at my familys lakeside cabin in east tennessee. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. The main characters of this fiction, classics story are. Amongst the jews is sophie zawistowski early 20s, a young polish mother of two. The novel was the basis of a 1982 film of the same name.
Sophies choice was the first major novel that i read after i came into book publishing in the fall of 1978. Sophies choice by william styron august 10, 2010 april 24, 2015 thomas even though i have not seen the film adaptation of sophie s choice, i must say that i had a very difficult time not seeing and hearing meryl streep every time sophie spoke. Dive deep into william styrons sophie s choice with extended analysis, commentary, and discussion. Stingo, a young aspiring writer from the south, and the jewish scientist nathan landau and his lover sophie, a polish catholic survivor of the german nazi concentration camps, whom he befriends. Sophies choice won the us national book award for fiction in 1980. It concerns the relation between three people sharing a boarding house in brooklyn. Sophie s choice by styron, first edition abebooks passion for books. This awardwinning novel of love, survival, and agonizing regret in postwwii brooklyn belongs on that small shelf reserved for american masterpieces the. Sophie s choice was the first major novel that i read after i came into book publishing in the fall of 1978. Find books like sophie s choice from the worlds largest community of readers. Sophies choice novel ultimate pop culture wiki fandom. A contemporary casebook is a collection of interpretations and reactions to william styrons famous 1979 novel of the holocaust. Published in february of 1979, it was and remains a hugely inspiring and haunting novel, which is often overlooked as one of the great american novels, especially among those written in the last half of the twentieth century.
Winner, national book awards 1980 for fiction hardcover. A frightened polish mother stands in line for the german concentration camps, holding her young daughter while her young son huddles closely against her. Sophie is the survivor of nazi concentration camps, who has found a reason to live with nathan, a sparkling if unsteady american jew obsessed with the holocaust. A rapacious nazi officer makes some lurid remarks and then demands that sophie choose which of her children will survive. Pakulas theatrical treatment of sophie s choice was a miscalculation, but im not convinced that it was. Sophies choice, novel by william styron, published in 1979, that examines the historical, moral, and psychological ramifications of the holocaust through the tragic life of a roman catholic survivor of auschwitz.
The book has been awarded with national book award finalist for fiction 1952, and many others. Upon moving to a brooklyn boarding house in 1947, author stingo peter macnicol meets nathan landau kline and sophie zawistowska streep. She recounts the night she arrived at auschwitz with her children, and of how a nazi officer forced her to choose life for one child, and death for the other. Sophie s choice by styron, william and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at.
Find out when and where you can watch sophie s choice on tv with the full listings schedule at. Based on the lauded novel by william styron, the movie features central characters who are either victims or perpetrators of volatile behavior, emotional outbursts, and. His stifling ninetofive job at a publishing company kills his spirit and his hopes, and the. It concerns the relationships between three people sharing a boarding house in brooklyn. The 1982 film adaptation, starring meryl streep and kevin kline, garnered an oscar for streeps. Set in the late 1940s, the novel is narrated by stingo, a young southern writer who is the authors thinly veiled alter ego. The book was published in multiple languages including english language, consists of 400 pages and is available in paperback format. The plot ultimately centers on a tragic decision which sophie was forced to. And sophie s choice will probably draw similar accusations about styrons use of the holocaust.
Sophies choice, novel by william styron, published in 1979, that examines the. As he becomes friendly with sophie meryl streep and her lover nathan kevin kline, he learns that sophie is a holocaust survivor. A contemporary casebook, edited by rhoda sirlin and james l. Sophie s son, jan 10, stands by her side clutching her dress.
If you have seen the 1982 film adaptation starring meryl streep for which she won an academy award for best actress this might already be familiar, but i havent. Much is made in the book of sophie s blonde, blueeyed good looks, how a certain amount of special treatment helped her survive the concentration camp, how it showed the nazis to be insane about the whole aryan thing, and how her blonde good looks gave the idiot narrator a stiffie. Adapted from william styrons awardwinning novel, it featured meryl streeps. It is betraying nothing to reveal that the character of stingo is the alter ego of william styron, upon. Stingo insists that they start a family, but sophie has yet to tell him her final secret her choice. The plot ultimately centers on a tragic decision which sophie was forced to make upon entering the concentration camp. Sophies choice begins as a young southerners odyssey to the unimaginable northto that strange land celebrated by his hero, thomas wolfe, who took the allnight train to new york with its riches, its women, and its romance. Before i explain what i did and didnt like about sophie s choice, let me give you a brief recap of the plot. His books include the confessions of nat turner, sophies choice, and darkness visible. Parents need to know that sophie s choice is an intense drama set in new york just two years after the end of world war ii. Meryl streep and kevin kline star in this drama adaptation of the novel by william styron. I think people of any political stripe can appreciate sophie s choice.
Stingo, a young aspiring writer from the south who befriends the jewish nathan landau and his beautiful lover sophie, a polish survivor of the german nazi concentration camps. Sophies choice is a 1979 novel by american author william styron. Sophie s choice winner, national book awards 1980 for fiction hardcover. Sophies choice novel project gutenberg selfpublishing. Pdf sophies choice book by william styron free download. The other main storyline is the relationship between sophie and nathan, and how stingo becomes their. Sophies choice begins as a young southerners odyssey to the unimaginable northto that strange land celebrated by his hero, thomas wolfe, who took the allnight train to. It won the 1980 national book award and became a bestseller. Sophie s choice tells the story of three young friends who lived in brooklyn in 1947. Sophie s choice 1979 is one of william styrons betterremembered novels.