Product Description

When 14-year-old Sophie encounters a mysterious mentor who introduces her to philosophy, mysteries deepen in her own life. Why does she keep getting postcards addressed to another girl? Who is the other girl? And who, for that matter, is Sophie herself? To solve the riddle, she uses her new knowledge of philosophy, but the truth is far stranger than she could have imagined. A phenomenal worldwide bestseller, SOPHIE'S WORLD sets out to draw teenagers into the world of Socrates, Descartes, Spinoza, Hegel and all the great philosophers. A brilliantly original and fascinating story with many twists and turns, it raises profound questions about the meaning of life and the origin of the universe.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4824 in Books
• Published on: 1996-03-04
• Original language: Norwegian
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

About the Author
Jostein Gaarder is the author of SOPHIE'S WORLD, a huge bestseller in over 40 countries. He was born in Oslo in 1952 and lives there now with his wife and two sons.

Customer Reviews

A fascinating and compelling introduction to philosophy
Sophie's World was my first introduction to the work of Jostein Gaarder. It is a book that had me captivated from the very first page right through to the last! Gaarder very cleverly combines two elements which result in a both informative and totally gripping story. Firstly the book provides the reader with a 'beginners guide' to philosophy which introduces all the major philosophical ideas and concepts from Socrates through to current day Existentialism and 'New Age' thinking. It gives an insight into all those names you have heard but knew nothing about! Combined with this, Gaarder manages to weave an exciting story about fourteen year old Sophie which holds the reader entranced not least because of the unexpected twists as the story unfolds. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, learnt a great deal and it is a book I could read several times over and still learn something new.

IN ALL PROBABILITY....
The bad news: It's not as good as the hype might lead you to expect. The good news: It's better than most of the other over-hyped pop-philosophy blockbusters on the shelves.

'Sophie's World' is at its worst when it pretends to be the sort of novel you would read purely for entertainment. That's because it starts out as a very good novel but finishes as a very bad one. Early on it catches your interest with an intriguing mystery and efficient classical narrative. Then about half way through, the author reveals his hand and ruins the plot. We are left with just another bit of post-modern ironic detachment or some such gimmick. From then on the fate of the characters ceases to matter, and as a novel it's all downhill from there on.

The book is at its best when it sticks to what Gaarder does best: lecturing on philosophy. This is where the fictive elements work best - by providing a character to voice the questions in our own heads. The author shows a good gra!sp of what will make sense to an uninformed reader, and provides a gentle ramble through a couple of dozen centuries of human thought that will help most people's understanding of the world in which we live.

That is not to say that Gaarder dispatches all periods in history with equal aplomb. His dealing with the metaphysical and ontological abstractions (jargon-free equivalent = world of ideas) of ancient Greece and the middle ages is exemplary. He manages to explain the more-or-less-unexplainable in terms of the easily-understood, in a way that more school texts should copy. Even the prickly thickets of 20th century existentialism yield up some of their unappetizing secrets under his patient hand.

Gaarder is least successful in dealing with creeds that go beyond pure ideas and involve a challenge to behaviour and lifestyle. His treatment of Marxism (which is not so much about ideas as it is about action) is shallow. His survey of Christianity (which is not about! ideas at all, but entirely about relationships) is derisory.

Amazon's warehouses contain better novels (for a first-class Scandinavian novel of ideas, try "Miss Smilla's Feeling For Snow") and better introductions to philosophy (e.g. Alain de Botton's 'Consolations of Philosophy'). In the end, however, 'Sophie's World' is surprisingly successful as a hybrid - it makes learning fun and deserves to be read.

The whole is much more than the sum of its parts
I was warned before reading this book that it was difficult to read and over-hyped. I found this wasn't true as Gaarder entertains and amuses the reader aswell as discussing all the major branches of philosophy in a easy to understand and well structured way. Those who complain about either the story line or the discussions within the book really shouldn't have started reading a "philosophical novel"- as it is quite obvious what they will get! I think a few people are put off the book as a novel when some of the issues get complex- but it all makes sense and is truly original.
Sophie's World has some real genious to it- the twists in the tale complement the academic aspects. The best thing about it though is it is an introduction to philosophy fun to read through and emensely helpful to look back on certain chapeters as a reference book. As a student of philosophy I know how difficult it is to find a basic philosophical introduction- espescially one that makes sense- but Gaarder suceeds.
This is an ideal book if you like a deeper novel than your average paperback or a lighter philosophical text book.