« Sophie comprenait beaucoup mieux les gens, et la façon de les manipuler, qu'elle ne le laissait paraître. Au moment même où j'ai ouvert la porte, elle a su qu'elle pouvait faire de moi ce qu'elle voulait. »Allison vient de quitter sa Virginie natale pour New York. Elle travaille dans un bar et n'a aucune ambition,aucun avenir. Puis elle rencontre Sophie Stark, une jeune réalisatrice décidée à faire d'elle une star. Daniel, ancien champion de basket, se remet d'un terrible accident de voiture. Ses retrouvailles avec Sophie Stark, son amour de jeunesse, lui redonnent le goût de vivre. La carrière de George, producteur hollywoodien, est au point mort.Pour renouer avec le succès, il décide d'appeler Sophie Stark, étoile montante du cinéma indépendant.Artiste passionnée, géniale et insaisissable, Sophie transforme et transcende la vie de ceux qui croisent sa route. Pour le meilleur et pour le pire.
Hundreds of miles off the frozen coast of what was once California is America Pacifica, where those who fled the dawn of the new ice age have tried to recreate their former home . . .America Pacifica is an island hundreds of miles off the coast of California - the only warm place left in a world in the grip of a new ice age. Darcy Pern is seventeen; her mother has gone missing, and the novel details her quest to find out the truth about her disappearance - a quest which soon becomes an investigation of the disturbing origins of America Pacifica itself, and its sinister and reclusive leader, a man known only as Tyson.America Pacifica invites comparison with the work of Margaret Atwood and China Mieville, but also with Cormac McCarthy's The Road, for its post-apocalyptic scenario and the touching relationship between Darcy and her mother, and the Stieg Larsson trilogy for its implacable central character who is determined to uncover the truth.
“I read The Life and Death of Sophie Stark with my heart in my mouth. Not only a dissection of genius and the havoc it can wreak, but also a thunderously good story.” --Emma Donoghue, author of Room
“This novel is perceptive, subtle, funny and lingers in unexpected ways. The analysis of a woman who puts her art above all else is equal parts inspiration and warning story. Anna North makes prose look easy.” --Lena Dunham, Omnivoracious.com
Gripping and provocative, The Life and Death of Sophie Stark is a haunting story of fame, love, and legacy told through the propulsive rise of an iconoclastic artist. Sophie Stark begins her filmmaking career by creating a documentary about her obsession, Daniel, a college basketball star. But when she becomes too invasive, she finds herself the victim of a cruel retribution. The humiliation doesn’t stop her. Visionary and unapologetic, Sophie begins to use stories from the lives of those around her to create movies, and as she gains critical recognition and acclaim, she risks betraying the one she loves most.
Told in a chorus of voices belonging to those who knew Sophie best, The Life and Death of Sophie Stark is an intimate portrait of an elusive woman whose monumental talent and relentless pursuit of truth reveal the cost of producing great art. It is “not only a dissection of genius and the havoc it can wreak, but also a thunderously good story” (Emma Donoghue).
From the Hardcover edition.
