The Life and Death of Sophie Stark is a fantastic book. The writing is clever and observant, the characters are multi-faceted and contradictory in the best and most human way possible. I had no idea what to expect going into this. I'll admit I was expected something a la
Virgin Suicides, mostly bc the cover art reminds me of the movie poster...which I know is just not how you should judge books, but it was in my head and I couldn't get it out. Although, in my defense, it turned out to be an apt comparison in some ways: a tragic narrative told through the lens of a group of observers who were close to - or wanted badly to be close to but in actuality may have known nothing about - the subject, an enigmatic and captivating woman. I really enjoyed this and tore through it pretty quickly. I have more to say about this but I'll have to take some time to put it into words...