Charlie Blakeman is living in New York, on Washington Square, struggling to write his second novel and floundering, when his college love, Sophie Wilder, returns to his life. Sophie, too, is struggling, though Charlie isn’t sure why. They’ve spoken only rarely since falling out a decade before. Now Sophie begins to tell Charlie the story of her life since then, particularly the days she spent taking care of a dying man with his own terrible past and the difficult decision he presented her with. When Sophie once again abruptly disappears, Charlie sets out to discover what happened to Sophie Wilder.
What Happened to Sophie Wilder
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
Review
Minneapolis Star Tribune names What Happened to Sophie Wilder one of the Top Ten Books of the Year.
"What Happened to Sophie Wilder is about many things—the New York publishing world, the growing pains of post collegiate life, the rigors of Roman Catholicism—but at its center its a moving meditation on why and for whom we write." —New York Times Book Review
"In this smart short novel What Happened to Sophie Wilder by Christopher R. Beha, a young writer deals with the reappearance and disappearance of the woman he sometimes loved." —Oprah Magazine
"Christopher R. Beha's beautiful, whip-smart first novel . . . is sober, unsentimental and delivered with intelligence and passion." —Washington Post
"What Happened to Sophie Wilder is a remarkable first novel, which should especially be read by those who have given up on contemporary literature. Along with giving them something good to read, it will renew their faith in what literature is capable of achieving." —Commentary
“[T]his novel is excitingly alert . . . to the ways we understand life in terms of stories, in particular the stories we tell about other people - whether to keep them at a safe distance or to bring them closer to us. More, it's alert to our alertness of this. The story Beha tells about Charlie and Sophie is a convincing contemporary love story, not in spite of its sometimes dizzying self-awareness but, in large part, because of it.”—San Francisco Chronicle
"Christopher Beha's What Happened to Sophie Wilder is a wonderful novel—smart, sly and lucid, a story about belief in all its forms that is wholly satisfying and quietly thrilling."
—Jess Walter, author of Beautiful Ruins
"Beha's writing is clean, unpretentious, and commanding in its seeming simplicity. He knits Chralie and Sophie's stories together in a seamless, intricate weave, offering an exploration of just how powerful stories can be." —Foreword Magazine
"A crisis of faith is key to the disappearance of a young woman in Christopher Beha’s What Happened to Sophie Wilder (Tin House), which deftly renders the competing impulses—creative, intellectual, emotional—of young writers in New York."—Vogue
Christopher Beha's short but intricately constructed first novel tells the story of two young writers struggling to discover their personal and professional identities, but it's not another excursion through the world of New York's literati. Instead, What Happened to Sophie Wilder is a somber character study focused on the problem of human suffering, the nature of religious belief and the acceptance of moral responsibility.—Shelf Awareness
"Beha’s debut novel (after the memoir The Whole Five Feet) is a thoughtful journey about the place of intellectual curiosity in relation to faith, friendship, and love."—Publishers Weekly
"Complex in structure, plot, and characterization, this promising debut will appeal to fans of literary fiction and the literary scene."—Booklist
"Christopher R Beha's What Happened to Sophie Wilder manages, somehow,
to read both like an auspicious debut and a veteran achievement: it
offers at once the vivid, old-fashioned pleasures of a classic
bildungsroman and a frighteningly intelligent contemporary take on the
ambitions and limits of storytelling and faith. It's a glass-and-steel
penthouse on a foundation of oak, and the most memorable first novel
I've read in some time."—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, author of A Sense of Direction
What Happened to Sophie Wilder is an old fashioned literary novel in
the very best sense--thoughtful and intellectual, moving and
well-wrought. Like its restless, yearning characters, it's not afraid
of the big questions, God and love, work and love, friendship and
love, and yet the solace this impressive debut finds lies as deeply in
the page as in the flesh or the spirit. Beha has managed to produce a
book that is satisfying for anyone who reads in order to live."
—Helen Schulman, author of This Beautiful Life
"What Happened to Sophie Wilder is an imperishable gift of
storytelling, a novel built sturdily of wisdom, beauty, and love.
Christopher R. Beha writes with Jamesian sophistication about the
enduring enigma of our inner lives, and the result is a title
character who will dwell in you always." —William Giraldi, author of Busy Monsters
"It takes courage to write a book placing sincere religious feelings at the very center of contemporary young, urban life. Chris Beha--a writer mature beyond his years--has done just that in What Happened to Sophie Wilder, a modern fable of faith and doubt, ambition and love, written with tender sentiment and striking moral intelligence. Open this book and you'll find the grain of our talk and the soul of our thought rendered at once exotic and utterly recognizable.—Jon Raymond, author of Rain Dragon
"What Happened to Sophie Wilder is subtle, surprising and, finally, urgent.... Expect it to vibrate in your breastbone." —Cleveland Plain Dealer
"[Beha] crafts a suspenseful story full of twists and turns at the same time that he offers believers a way of moving beyond seeing fait as 'an embarrassment to their own reason and intelligence.'" —Rain Taxi
"What Happened to Sophie Wilder is about many things—the New York publishing world, the growing pains of post collegiate life, the rigors of Roman Catholicism—but at its center its a moving meditation on why and for whom we write." —New York Times Book Review
"In this smart short novel What Happened to Sophie Wilder by Christopher R. Beha, a young writer deals with the reappearance and disappearance of the woman he sometimes loved." —Oprah Magazine
"Christopher R. Beha's beautiful, whip-smart first novel . . . is sober, unsentimental and delivered with intelligence and passion." —Washington Post
"What Happened to Sophie Wilder is a remarkable first novel, which should especially be read by those who have given up on contemporary literature. Along with giving them something good to read, it will renew their faith in what literature is capable of achieving." —Commentary
“[T]his novel is excitingly alert . . . to the ways we understand life in terms of stories, in particular the stories we tell about other people - whether to keep them at a safe distance or to bring them closer to us. More, it's alert to our alertness of this. The story Beha tells about Charlie and Sophie is a convincing contemporary love story, not in spite of its sometimes dizzying self-awareness but, in large part, because of it.”—San Francisco Chronicle
"Christopher Beha's What Happened to Sophie Wilder is a wonderful novel—smart, sly and lucid, a story about belief in all its forms that is wholly satisfying and quietly thrilling."
—Jess Walter, author of Beautiful Ruins
"Beha's writing is clean, unpretentious, and commanding in its seeming simplicity. He knits Chralie and Sophie's stories together in a seamless, intricate weave, offering an exploration of just how powerful stories can be." —Foreword Magazine
"A crisis of faith is key to the disappearance of a young woman in Christopher Beha’s What Happened to Sophie Wilder (Tin House), which deftly renders the competing impulses—creative, intellectual, emotional—of young writers in New York."—Vogue
Christopher Beha's short but intricately constructed first novel tells the story of two young writers struggling to discover their personal and professional identities, but it's not another excursion through the world of New York's literati. Instead, What Happened to Sophie Wilder is a somber character study focused on the problem of human suffering, the nature of religious belief and the acceptance of moral responsibility.—Shelf Awareness
"Beha’s debut novel (after the memoir The Whole Five Feet) is a thoughtful journey about the place of intellectual curiosity in relation to faith, friendship, and love."—Publishers Weekly
"Complex in structure, plot, and characterization, this promising debut will appeal to fans of literary fiction and the literary scene."—Booklist
"Christopher R Beha's What Happened to Sophie Wilder manages, somehow,
to read both like an auspicious debut and a veteran achievement: it
offers at once the vivid, old-fashioned pleasures of a classic
bildungsroman and a frighteningly intelligent contemporary take on the
ambitions and limits of storytelling and faith. It's a glass-and-steel
penthouse on a foundation of oak, and the most memorable first novel
I've read in some time."—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, author of A Sense of Direction
What Happened to Sophie Wilder is an old fashioned literary novel in
the very best sense--thoughtful and intellectual, moving and
well-wrought. Like its restless, yearning characters, it's not afraid
of the big questions, God and love, work and love, friendship and
love, and yet the solace this impressive debut finds lies as deeply in
the page as in the flesh or the spirit. Beha has managed to produce a
book that is satisfying for anyone who reads in order to live."
—Helen Schulman, author of This Beautiful Life
"What Happened to Sophie Wilder is an imperishable gift of
storytelling, a novel built sturdily of wisdom, beauty, and love.
Christopher R. Beha writes with Jamesian sophistication about the
enduring enigma of our inner lives, and the result is a title
character who will dwell in you always." —William Giraldi, author of Busy Monsters
"It takes courage to write a book placing sincere religious feelings at the very center of contemporary young, urban life. Chris Beha--a writer mature beyond his years--has done just that in What Happened to Sophie Wilder, a modern fable of faith and doubt, ambition and love, written with tender sentiment and striking moral intelligence. Open this book and you'll find the grain of our talk and the soul of our thought rendered at once exotic and utterly recognizable.—Jon Raymond, author of Rain Dragon
"What Happened to Sophie Wilder is subtle, surprising and, finally, urgent.... Expect it to vibrate in your breastbone." —Cleveland Plain Dealer
"[Beha] crafts a suspenseful story full of twists and turns at the same time that he offers believers a way of moving beyond seeing fait as 'an embarrassment to their own reason and intelligence.'" —Rain Taxi
About the Author
Christopher R. Beha is an associate editor at Harper’s Magazine and the author of a memoir, The Whole Five Feet. He contributes frequently to the New York Times Book Review. What Happened to Sophie Wilder is his first novel.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
58 of 59 people found the following review helpful
By Katie M.
Format:Paperback
There are few things as satisfying as a book that leaves you eager to discuss it with another reader. My husband read the book before I did, and upon finishing it, he insisted that I start reading immediately. I didn't quite understand his urgency until I began reading the book. I devoured the book in a few days, excited for each new chapter and development, yet saddened by the dwindling number of remaining pages. When I finished, the characters -- and their choices -- stayed with me. Over the next few days, the book kept coming up in our conversations, as we worked out some of the questions it left us with.
Beha's writing is beautiful. Truth be told: I'm a fast reader, as I tend to skim, but i found myself unwilling to skip a single sentence. Each word seemed to be so thoughtfully chosen; never superfluous, always intentional. As a person far more interested in plot than pretty words, it takes some seriously good writing for me to take notice. Bravo, Mr. Beha.
I can't wait to read his next book. In the meantime, I know I'll read SOPHIE WILDER again.
Buy two copies and give one to a friend. You'll both want to talk about this when you finish reading.
Beha's writing is beautiful. Truth be told: I'm a fast reader, as I tend to skim, but i found myself unwilling to skip a single sentence. Each word seemed to be so thoughtfully chosen; never superfluous, always intentional. As a person far more interested in plot than pretty words, it takes some seriously good writing for me to take notice. Bravo, Mr. Beha.
I can't wait to read his next book. In the meantime, I know I'll read SOPHIE WILDER again.
Buy two copies and give one to a friend. You'll both want to talk about this when you finish reading.
57 of 59 people found the following review helpful
By Bryan Wolff
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I don't think there's such a thing as a "must-read" in literature anymore, but Christopher R Beha's debut What Happened To Sophie Wilder is a "should-read." While many of the other reviews have hit on the tender and touching story of the main characters, there are two components of the novel that I personally enjoyed:
- The prose. Beha writes in short sentences and rarely, if ever, uses adjectives/adverbs as a lazy means of description. The novel's choice of words was given careful thought by a master craftsman.
- Religion. I am not religious, but I found Beha's thoughts on salvation to be thought provoking and to have moved me in a way that I found surprising and memorable.
- The prose. Beha writes in short sentences and rarely, if ever, uses adjectives/adverbs as a lazy means of description. The novel's choice of words was given careful thought by a master craftsman.
- Religion. I am not religious, but I found Beha's thoughts on salvation to be thought provoking and to have moved me in a way that I found surprising and memorable.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I've stayed up well past my bedtime for the last few nights reading WHAT HAPPENED TO SOPHIE WILDER. It's cliche to say, I guess, but I couldn't put it down. The prose is beautiful, the research behind all the asides and literary criticism flawless, but most of all, the reader is left both haunted and hopeful. I will be thinking about Sophie -- about what it means to have faith, and about what it means to dream big while faced with disappointment and hash truths -- for a long time to come.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not Graham Greene
Christopher Beha's debut novel is sparely and beautifully written, but his characterizations are thin. Read more
Published 20 days ago by Cecilia Rose
4.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling
I found this novel gripping, which surprised me since I didn't find any of the characters particularly likable. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sara Schaffzin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good read - good for book clubs
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I read it in a day and a half, much of it on a long car ride. I liked the story being told from two points of view, and I was pulled into the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by L. Dean
3.0 out of 5 stars
Written well not my type
Different , once got into book liked how it ended. Amazing how people think and react liked the sensitivity that did take place.
Published 2 months ago by Joyce A. Glowacki
2.0 out of 5 stars
Really wanted to like it
I really wanted to like this book. I had read great things about it. If I like a book I will finish it within a week of starting it, but this book took me a month to get through. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Bean1188
1.0 out of 5 stars
I have no idea
this book is not one of the best. I found it boring but kept reading to see if I could get through it. I felt like I was torturing myself. I finally stopped at just 50% of book. Read more
Published 3 months ago by DONNA
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well written in a way that draws in the reader
Several times during the course of reading the book I found myself going back to reread portions to make sure I had understood it correctly: this was a plus. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Norman S. Baron
2.0 out of 5 stars
Wouldn't recommend
I bought this book because it was the kindle book of the day and the description was interesting. The book was BORING!! I want that part of my life back!
Published 4 months ago by Rachel R. Jerome
2.0 out of 5 stars
Wanted to like it just couldn't
I wanted to like this book but I found the beginning to be wordy and pretentious and the characters to be unlikeable. Read more
Published 4 months ago by kathy
3.0 out of 5 stars
not my favorite though well written
A very well written book, just not my style. I didn't really care about the characters and while I understand that there are unlikable people in the world.... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Angelbaby Productions
