If you’re looking for a gripping read for your summer holidays or your commute to work then look no further. Let me hand you over to the lovely Emma Kingston from Year of the Yes for her review of Anna North’s debut.
I should start this review with a warning, if you are looking for a feel-good, lighthearted story The Life and Death of Sophie Stark is not for you. It is a dark and intriguing tale, the bleak outcome of which is proudly positioned in the title.
There are no surprises about where this story ends up, but Anna North adopts an intriguing narrative approach to get us there – telling Sophie’s story through the eyes of six of the people that were closest to her.
Sophie Stark is an enigmatic film director. Her story is shaped by prominent figures in her life, from her lover, to her brother, through to her college crush, her husband, a colleague and the film critic that closely follows her career. So it is only fitting that they share her deepest secrets.
Part of the beauty of this story is that you are purposefully distanced from the main subject by virtue of the fact that she is not, as is usual, the narrator of their own story. You have to rely on others’ perceptions of her. And thus, I think quite intentionally, I never quite warmed to Sophie. Certainly she had many endearing and redeeming features (I for one would love to be as inquisitive as her whilst seemingly never judging), but she also had an unnerving ability to manipulate and expose the deepest insecurities of those closest to her.
“Sophie understood a lot more about people and how to play them than she ever let on.”
But you don’t have to warm to Sophie to be enthralled by her story.
And it is also clear that as much as she can have a tendency to use others, so she too is used.
They might all love her, in their own ways, but they also all want something from her. Her approval, her love, her reassurance, her talent, for her to be something that she isn’t…
Such is human nature, hey?
Despite the varying perspectives about Sophie, you still finish the book feeling that she is as elusive as she was at the beginning – she is one of those souls that you can never quite pin down. Sometimes you feel you actually learn more about the storyteller from their accounts of Sophie, than you do about her.
But the recounts from each narrator are like a series of short stories, eloquently formed, deep and gripping.
Though I didn’t find this a compulsive read in the sense I always had to keep picking it up, when I did settle down to read it I frequently struggled to put it back down again.
So, for those that have read along with us, it’s book club question time (stealthily borrowed from the back of my copy of the book)!
Did you feel that you knew Sophie Stark by the end of the novel? Which character is ultimately the most betrayed? And did Sophie’s life have to end the way it did?
I would also love to hear what you thought of the book generally, are you compelled to read more from Anna North after reading Sophie’s tale?
This is the reason I love the book club, getting me to read something I don’t think I would ever have chosen. I agree it may not have been gripping in the ‘I have to read this all in one sitting’ sense, but it was certainly intriguing. The first chapter or so, honestly i wasnt sure at all, but the book certainly grew on me. I have tried to work out how it is possible to ask a question with no judgement, I think there’s no hope for me though! I don’t know if it was because there was no narrative from sophies perspective, but it very much felt like a true story rather than a novel. I think I would read more by Anna north out of curiosity more than anything. Also, what is the next read for book club? Xx
That’s my favourite thing about book club too Emma! Totally agree with you, it did feel a bit like a true story… And actually I think it is a sign of a good book that I still think about it now, even though it was a little while ago that I read it.
I’m eagerly waiting for something new from Anna North so that I can give that a whirl too!!
Hope to see you for the next book club instalment too Emma, Bridget Jones is certainly at the opposite end of the spectrum though 🙂 x
Yey glad you love Book Club Emma 🙂
The next read will be Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy x
For me, the first two narrators, Alison and her brother had me absolutely hooked. After that, I felt a bit short changed as though the story was skipping big chunks.
Personally, I would have preferred less individual stories in the second half and more complete stories, (eg how they went from the cabin to being married).
Maybe one of the problems is that I just didn’t like or care about Sophie so getting to the end felt like a bit of a chore. I suppose it was the intention to keep Sophie mysterious and distant from the reader and it certainly nailed it.
I really struggled with the fact that I didn’t warm to Sophie as well, Sarah. Although I did enjoy the book, I can totally understand it would impact your whole impression of the book!! Hopefully you will enjoy one of our next book club books more 🙂 x
I’ve been avoiding this post as had not finished the book! Have made myself finish it now and I still very unsure how I feel about it. Completely agree with the comment about having to pick it up but then getting into it when I did.
I liked that it was a different read and I think the author is talented. I also liked that the story played out from different perspectives. Weirdly I had forgotten the title so was actually a little taken aback by her death (even though I should have realised only a few pages left!)
I felt we learnt very little about Sophie but that is what she wanted and how she lived her life. I think what I really struggled with is that you could not warm to Sophie (or any of the chararcters). I think this has been the case with a lot of books I’ve read recently so looking forward to Bridget Jones!