Though it seems now that the critical response to Styron's next novel, Sophie's Choice (1979), could hardly match the reception sparked by the publication of The Confessions of Nat Turner (a novel reflecting the turbulent decade in which it was born even as it seems to reinforce the social and political turmoil of that time), Styron's decision to portray a non-Jewish victim of the Holocaust generated various debates of its own.
The novel tells the story of Sophie (a Polish Roman Catholic who survived Auschwitz), Nathan (her brilliant, mercurial, and menacing Jewish lover), and Stingo (a Southern transplant in post World War II-Brooklyn who was in love with Sophie). It won the 1980 National Book Award and was a nationwide bestseller. A 1982 film version was nominated for five Academy Awards, with Meryl Streep winning the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Sophie. Kevin Kline and Peter MacNicol played Nathan and Stingo, respectively.
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