GISELL DEJESUS
Chasing Sophia plunges the reader into Emily’s psyche at exactly the point when her carefully constructed world is about to begin to fall apart. She is a psychiatrist, listening to other people’s problems, not so good at listening to her own empty, predictable existence. And then there’s Sophia, her new client: battered, mysterious, and refreshingly open about her habit of pursuing pain, sex, and power in all the wrong ways. I enjoyed the intimate, confessional tone of this novel, as if Emily was writing this book as a hopelessly verbose, heartfelt plea to someone who knows her inside out.
Emily begins to unravel Sophia’s past while simultaneously beginning to unravel her own: her burnout, her isolation, her existence as a woman living a life of appearances but feeling as though she refuses to live within it. It’s tense, emotionally rather than physically—conversations about_domSub relationships, consent, guilt, and when the lines between intellectual curiosity and obsession begin to blur. For me, some of the most compelling moments are when Emily comes to realize that not only is she inspecting Sophia’s cravings for experience, but she has those cravings herself but has placed them aside for a lifetime of doing what a rational woman with her options is supposed to do.
This is definitely not a gentle novel – sex, morals, and power are all knotted up together, and Emily goes places that made me uncomfortable at least a few times. But this is also what makes it so engaging – this is a novel that is not going to provide any easy takes on sex, on mental illness, because instead, it lingers on the mess of what happens when a woman, one who has spent a long time keeping all of the stories of others together, finally lets her own fall apart. By the end of this, I felt like I’d witnessed Emily unravel as thoroughly as any of Sophia’s performances.
The Goods:
– Intimate, confessional tone that allows the reader to experience the unspooling of Emily’s life in middle age very explicitly
– Complex exploration of sex, power, and consent that isn’t afraid of gray areas
– The tense, psychologically loaded relationship between doctor and patient that makes you want to keep reading to know who’s in charge
The Bads:
– Excessive concentration on the internal monologue and confession may seem too slow-paced if you favor plot-based storytelling.
– Emily’s transgressive acts and decisions might render her an unsympathetic character for some readers
– There is too much erotic and BDSM action, as well as emotional drama, for anyone seeking something lighter and more traditional in the romance genre.
I’d recommend Chasing Sophia to anyone who enjoys stories that probe the uncomfortable aspects of desire and identity. Chasing Sophia takes no prisoners: Emily’s decisions are often wrong and sometimes disturbing, but this is why she sometimes feels so real. I think anyone who enjoys psychologically dense fiction that examines sexual desire, power, and midlife crises but does not necessarily offer any easy solutions will find Chasing Sophia to be definitely worth reading.
Every book hits differently for every reader.
I hope you enjoy reading my review.
– Corey
