I wish I hadn’t waited so long to write this review because now it’s harder to remember why exactly I found this book emotionally compelling (but I did). It’s an interesting trick that Anna North uses—to tell the story of a person through the eyes and experiences of people around her—and I think it works, precisely because Sophie Stark is a filmmaker, who creates stories of others’ lives so it makes sense that others should tell her story. The basic plot of Sophie’s life is […]
The Mystery of Sophie Stark
The Life of Sophie Stark is a collection of short stories written by people who were affected by Sophie Stark, a creative but cold film maker. Sophie would best be described as a manic pixie nightmare girl; she was one of those permanently damaged characters that everyone worshipped. Allison, the star of Sophie’s first feature film as well as Jacob, the musician who meets Sophie on a music video shoot that leads to their marriage, talk about falling in love with the work of Sophie […]
Sophie Stark
I freaking devoured this book. It was so good! The writing, the suspense, all of it. And while it’s hard to really love Sophie Stark, I did find myself feeling like I understood her at least, by the end. “It’s hard for me to talk about love,’ she said. ‘I think movies are the way I do that.” The Life and Death of Sophie Stark is a collection of stories about Sophie Stark, told from perspectives of her lovers, coworkers, friends and her brother. They detail the […]
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman with Asperger Syndrome
The Life and Death of Sophie Stark is a novel about a young and talented filmmaker whose life ended too soon but who left an indelible mark on those few people who knew her and/or her work. The story is told through the various perspectives of these people: actress/lover Allison, brother Robbie, producer George, husband/musician Jacob, college obsession Daniel, journalist Benjamin. Each person seems to have been frustrated by their inability to really know or understand Sophie, expressing irritation and annoyance along with love and […]