William Styron - Sophie’s Choice [Book Review]

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The joy of writing, and of language, is on almost every page of Sophie’s Choice, if not in the main character’s goal of becoming published, then in the words themselves. William Styron describes an aspiring writer and his friends with heart-breaking, luscious prose which inspires unforgettable images, and an ache for the characters long after turning the last page.

Stingo’s Career

In the late spring of 1947, Stingo, a twenty-two-year-old aspiring writer, is suffering through his job at McGraw-Hill in Manhattan. While he appreciates the struggles of the writers whose manuscripts he evaluates, he discovers that he is not quite suited to a typical nine-to-five job for “the man,” especially when he finds out that management wants to control his wardrobe and his reading habits. This section is lengthy and detailed, even down to humorous, multiple-page query letters; “where is Sophie?’ may come to mind. Read all of it and resist flipping ahead. Styron has placed subtle clues about themes of the book throughout this chapter.

Nathan and Sophie

After being terminated from his job, Stingo relocates to a boarding house in Brooklyn, where he meets Sophie, a Polish Catholic, and her lover, Nathan, an American Jew. As a Southerner and a Baptist, Stingo notes that the religious and historical debates begin almost immediately: Nathan is unbearably intense about his opinions of Stingo’s origins, the institution of slavery, and their respective faiths. Nathan also harasses Sophie regularly about her terrible experiences as a survivor of the Holocaust. Stingo, appalled by their arguments, defends Sophie repeatedly, and in the process, begins to fall in love with her but keeps his feelings to himself, because despite Nathan’s obvious mood swings, they all become “the best of friends,” which Sophie predicts.

The new location, the new friendships, and even a new and potentially exciting liaison with a beautiful Jewish girl, all inspire Stingo to focus on his novel. As both his project and the summer progress, he becomes closer to Nathan and Sophie. Long, cozy conversations with Sophie, eventually with Nathan’s blessing, gradually reveal her history in Europe: growing up with a father who was a Nazi sympathizer; marrying; losing her husband during the occupation of Poland; and then being arrested and sent to Auschwitz. Lengthy historical sections break up the friends’ conversations; read through them, no matter how long it takes. By explaining the atrocities of the Holocaust and its perpetrators and victims, Styron is aiming for the most effective climax imaginable. To skip ahead or to rush through the chapters, seeking continuity in the 1947 storyline, will ruin the ending.

A Literary Novel About History, Relationships And Writing

It is almost possible to feel the heat of Stingo’s apartment during this eventful summer, and to hear the fans blowing during his writing sessions; to hear the music the friends play on their record players, loud enough to be heard in each others’ apartments; to see and hear and feel the characters as they indulge in romantic and sexual encounters (Styron is not shy about sex scenes). Styron uses unpredictable combinations of words, such as “laundered to transparency,” to help the reader visualize the boarding house and its tenants and their day to day lives. At the beginning of the story, Stingo reveals that his fascination for the written word borders on “erotic,” an apt description of Styron’s writing style.

Unforgettable Characters

It is possible to fall in love with all of the characters, and to miss them after the final page is turned. Stingo is ever mindful of his manners and his faith, despite giving in to the temptations of lust, anger and jealousy; he fears Judgment Day. Sophie is sophisticated, mournful, and complicated. Nathan is passionate, artistic, friendly and simply way too intense; Stingo finds out why during a startling conversation with Nathan’s brother. The other characters are supporting players, yet vividly described, even Stingo’s father, who appears only as the author of several long, friendly letters to his son.

A Story With Layers

Sophie’s Choice, like Russia according to former English Prime Minister Winston Churchill, “Is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” Don’t skip ahead to find out what happens. Don’t look for the meaning of the title. Read from the beginning and go through the layers of the narration from Stingo’s short-lived career, to his arrival in Brooklyn, to the historical passages, and to Sophie and Nathan, and back again, no matter how long it takes. Trust Styron. He knows what he is doing.