Do you ever wonder where we came from?? How was the Universe formed and is there a God and if so who created him?? Is he actually a he could he be a she? I often think about these types of things. I have taken a formal course in Philosophy as I took it as my third subject in my first year at Stirling University. However I deliberately failed it as I just found it far too airy fairy as we seemed to spend most of our time in seminars debating whether the table really existed However I gave philosophy a second chance by reading Sophie?s World by the Norwegian philosophical writer Jostien Gaarder. The book was translated into English by Paulette Moller Sophie?s ...  Read the complete review

Sophie's World is a novel by Jostein Gaarder, published in 1991. First published in Norweigan and then English and has now spread to over 30 countries and boasts sales of more than 30 million copies. Gaarder is not just a talented author but freshly invigorating and truly inspiring, often writing from the perspective of children and exploring that sense of naïve wonderment so many of us can recall having as a child. His work also employs a metafictional device involving stories within a story, hence the title Sophie World; subtitle - A History of Philosophy. Sophie Amundsen is a young girl that lives a seemingly perfectly normal life until one day she receives ...  Read the complete review

First read years ago in the school library and then later several times as an adult. The book is really an introduction to philosophical ideas going all the way from the ancient Greeks through to modern times, wrapped in the story of 'Sophie' a teenage Norwegian girl who begins corresponding with a mysterious 'philosopher' who introduces her to these ideas through a series of written "chapters" teaching about each of the philosophical schools of thought. The information is presented in a friendly writing style rather than academic though and does not require any specialist knowledge to understand. Without giving away too much of the plot let's say as ...  Read the complete review

Sophie Amundsen is just an average fourteen year old teenage girl living in Norway in 1990. She lives a simple life with her mother and her cat Sherekan, but her life is profoundly affected when she receives a letter out of the blue. In the letter are posed two questions: 'Who are you?' and 'Where did you come from?'. Thus unfolds a convoluted story in which Sophie begins a series of letter exchanges with the mysterious Alberto Knox. The two soon meet up and Albert dishes out his wisdom in person. Even though other characters populate the novel including Sophie's friends and even some fairy tale characters, the exchanges between Sophie and Albert form the backbone of the  Read the complete review

Sophies World is probably the best known of Jostein Gaarder's books, and also probably the most critically acclaimed. In my earlier version of this review I pointed out that "The name betrays the fact that the author is Norwegian, and the fame of this book betrays the fact that it isn't his first novel- only his most succesful so far." However it seems that, at least at my local bookshops, his books have been opened to a wider audience now. In case you haven't read it yet, here is my opinion from when I had first read it, with only minor modifications made to ease your way! The book is billed as a history of philosophy, yet it is much ...  Read the complete review