Sophie's ChoiceSophie's Choice
Score Classic
What it's about
Brooklyn, 1947. Stingo, a young Southerner trying to write his first novel, moves into a boarding house and befriends the couple upstairs: Sophie, a beautiful Polish Catholic survivor of Auschwitz, and her brilliant, charming, volatile lover Nathan. Over one summer, as Stingo falls in love with Sophie, she slowly reveals the truth of her past, culminating in the choice she was forced to make at the camp.
Why it's worth reading
It's a powerful, ambitious novel about guilt, memory and the Holocaust, and it won the National Book Award. Its central revelation is one of the most famous and devastating in American fiction.
You'll love it if you liked
The Book Thief
East of Eden
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & ClayGood to know
It's long and digressive, with frank sexual content and mental illness. The Auschwitz sections are harrowing.
By the numbers
- Readers72 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics85 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller63 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
Why it made the list
Reads as
Thought-provoking, Moving
More by William Styron
The Confessions of Nat Turner
Darkness Visible: A Memoir of MadnessIf you like this, read next
Persuasion
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Tender Is the Night
Little, Big
The Lord of the Rings
A Brief History of TimeExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is Sophie's Choice worth reading?
Yes. It's a powerful, ambitious novel about guilt, memory and the Holocaust, and it won the National Book Award. It ranks #133 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 85.6 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Sophie's Choice about?
Brooklyn, 1947. Stingo, a young Southerner trying to write his first novel, moves into a boarding house and befriends the couple upstairs: Sophie, a beautiful Polish Catholic survivor of Auschwitz, and her brilliant, charming, volatile lover Nathan. Over one summer, as Stingo falls in love with Sophie, she slowly reveals the truth of her past, culminating in the choice she was forced to make at the camp.
How long does it take to read Sophie's Choice?
About 16 hours (632 pages), or about 5 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has Sophie's Choice won?
National Book Award (Fiction) winner (1980).
What should I read after Sophie's Choice?
If you liked it, try The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, East of Eden by John Steinbeck or The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon.