I finished Sophie's Choice today. I don't think I can attempt to give you any sort of review right now, as it is all too fresh in my mind--still all swirling about. There is too much to think about and digest. To be frank, I am not sure I can even attempt to write a review that would live up to this book. I can still say what I said yesterday, that this is one of the best books I have read in a long time and leave it at that. For the past three or so days I have completely immersed myself in Sophie, Stingo and Nathan's world and it is hard to drag myself out of it now that the story is finished. It is sort of like having been in a really deep sleep and you wake up all groggy. I don't think I will be able to open another book for the rest of the day, that's for certain. I think some mindless TV or a movie is what is called for. I highly recommend this, but just a little word of warning--it deals with the Holocaust and some scenes are pretty gut wrenching. There is also rather a lot of sex in this book. Not to say that any of this is gratuitous. I think Styron new exactly what he was doing writing this book like he wrote it. In someone else's hands I might not think this way, but I personally was not offended with how he told the story. There are so many layers, and several storylines, and as I mentioned yesterday he works it all so deftly. He moves in and out of everything with grace and mastery. So, yeah. You could say I liked this book. I definitely will have to check out more of his writing! I watched this movie a long time ago, and though I knew what the "choice" was, I had not remembered many of the details. This is one book that will have to stand alone as I don't think I want to watch the film adaptation again--no matter how good it was.
Now what I was planning to post about (but I had to mention Sophie's Choice one more time!)...for Christmas I received a nice little stack of gift cards to bookstores! Not being an overly patient person, I went this week to not one, but two bookstores to put a little dent in those cards. I left one bookstore with the gift card only half used (very proud of myself!), and I left the other bookstore with the card completely used and my pocket book a tad bit lighter (not so proud of myself). Alas, I still have gift cards and the trick is to ration them out! Here's what I netted:
- The Children of Men by P.D. James--I saw the film version of this book (though I managed to get a copy with the original art), which had Clive Owen on it, which in turn made me pick it up and look at it (um, wonder why...). I was not familiar with it, but I sort of like futuristic, dystopian tales, as weird as that sounds.
- Purity of Blood by Arturo Perez-Reverte--I have to read about the further (swashbuckling) adventures of Alatriste!
- Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martinez--A murder mystery set in Oxford (I really need to visit there someday) and investigated by two mathematicians--it really sounds better than I am describing it!
- His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik--I have tried to mooch this book more times than I can count in the last month, but I never to get there in time, so I broke down and just bought a copy. I really don't read fantasy, but this was recommended and it is set during the Napoleonic Wars.
- Murder on a Hot Tin Roof by Amanda Matetsky--This is a nice little mystery series with a spunky sleuth set in 1950s NYC.
- Pomegranate Soup by Marsha Mehran--A tale of three sisters who fled Iran and settle in Ireland and open a cafe. I looked at this more than one at the library.
- The Night Watch by Sarah Waters--This was on my wish list. All her books look good!
- My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk--Another one that looks like it would be really interesting, it is set in the Ottoman Empire of the 16th-century.
- The View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro--I need to read more short stories, and not only have I hard good things about this, but I like the idea that this is sort of autobiographical, too.
- The Museum of the Missing by Simon Houpt--I really need to buy more art books. Although there is not really a ton of text (so I am not sure how in-depth it really gets) it is lavishly illustrated. Just about anything art-related I find intriguing!
A pretty good haul, don't you think? One nice bit of news, though it comes out of a very sad recent event--I don't have to work on January 2nd as it has been named a national day of mourning. Although I was very sad to hear about the death of former President Ford (did you know he was actually born in Omaha? His house was not far from where I live now), I can't say I am disappointed to have another day tacked on to my vacation. (I hope that doesn't sound awfully terrible of me--but you know what I mean).
And one more little thing. Please feel free to add your name to the list of comments here by Saturday, if you are interested in any of the book knowledge cards I have to give away. They look really cool, and I wanted to share a few with readers here. I will put the names for each deck in a hat on Sunday and let you know who the lucky recipients are later in the afternoon.