The Life and Death of Sophie Stark by Anna NorthMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book has gotten no lack of buzz over recent months, and I decided to seek it out from the library sooner rather than later. A lot of people will compare this to The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone, but it's actually less conceptual and more mainstream and, once everything gets established, this becomes and interesting ride.
The story is told from multiple points of view about the film career of young female director Sophie Stark, who gains some prominence from her first short film. It follows some of her relationships, her movies, the views from a distance and how she reconnects with people in her past, and so on. It's almost like an oral history than anything else.
Why does this work? The format means that you're not stuck in a lesser point of view too long, and the different feelings and ideas that people have about Stark and her work (as well as who she was and who she became) ends up having a reality/documentary feel to it in a lot of ways. It means that you sometimes don't get why you're supposed to care until a little too late, but by the time you get used to the format, none of that is a problem anymore.
Ultimately closer to a 4.5. A surprisingly solid read that I enjoyed a lot more than I initially thought. Great for people looking for somewhat nontraditional storytelling, and especially those who enjoy film and movie production.
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