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 It Will Take Your Breath Away December 30, 2008
This book was recommended reading by my 12th grade Humanities teacher, who asked the entire class to read it the summer before school started. I duly purchased it, but couldn't get past the long section on Plato, and put it aside for possible future reading. I picked it up again about two years later, and for some reason, forced myself through the long, sometimes tedious lectures that Alberto gives Sophie and found an extremely compelling story underneath. I have since read it two more times, and each time I find myself more and more fascinated by the philosophical material and find myself now enjoying the stories of the great philosophers and thinkers in history. Although some may feel that this book is dry and dense, it really speaks to me, and should appeal to anyone who is interested in history, philosophy, or has ever asked themselves the questions, "Who am I?" and "Why is the world the way it is?"
The best intro to philosophy December 21, 2008
The Norwegian girl Sophie Amundsen is about to celebrate her fourteenth birthday when she receives through the mail a strange message from a certain Albert Knox. What starts out as a few pieces of paper turns into a full course in philosophy. Although Sophie is enthralled by that mysterious course, she keeps pondering on who that strange Albert Knox might actually be. But that is not the only mystery: Sophie receives post cards addressed to a girl named Hilde. As Sophie receives more messages from Albert, she learns even more that the basics of philosophy.
Although Sophie's World was originally written as an introduction to philosophy for the youngsters, it is also a veritable treat for people who have already passed that stage. Even more, I guess that this is one of the most readable introductions you can find to that wonderfully and interesting world of philosophy. It takes you on a voyage from Socrates to Kant and from Darwin to Freud. It covers the many different perspectives on the world that have been known to influence history. As such it shows nicely how every idea breeds new ideas. The power of the book is that it takes its time to explain every concept and illustrate them with comprehensive examples. The storyline of Sophie guides you through the chapters and adds some mystery value to it. Due to its broad scope it will be a book that you will keep rereading with much joy.
 A pale imitation November 14, 2008
Sophie's World is a trite and ploddingly written textbook trying to masquerade as a novel of meta fiction. Mr. Gaarder writes with a pedantic style when he presents the philosophy lectures/letters in the novel. The dialogue of the characters is trite and unrealistic at best. Usually I am little more kind in book reviews, but I do not understand all the fuss about this one.
I think many people praise it because of its cutesy story arc of fictional characters living in perpetuity outside of the world of their texts. Sorry folks, but this is not a very original idea. For a far superior take on the same themes look to Pirandello's masterful play Six Characters in Search of an Author.
Mr. Gaarder barely connects his two storylines about a philosophy course, and a man writing a book about a philosophy course, and when they do intersect one is hard pressed to find the thematic relevance. It is almost like he expects the reader to be impressed by the intertwining story lines and their subject matter, and to forget that he does a terrible job of bridging the two.
Take a philosophy course, or read some meta fiction. This text is a poor example of both!
Simply fascinating ! November 10, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a brilliant book sweeping you through history and introducing highly inspirational characters from different periods of time around the world. Even though it is described as 'A Novel About The History of Philosophy', it is barely that. To me a lot of excerpts from the words of legends such as Plato or Socrates made a lot of sense and seemed to run on logic. The novel features a girl called Sophie who receives letters from an unknown philosopher who teaches her a lot about life and the way things work. She learns and absorbs as much as she can, and soon you find that you are indeed the 'Sophie' in the story, and the book is indeed the 'Unknown Philosopher'! This book is a masterpiece that will keep you thinking till the end and after. Its a timeless wonder."
 good intro to Philosophy for some October 30, 2008
I agree with other reviewers that the book is fun, fascinating, and informative. My only objection is that the ending is a bit over the top. I felt that the author could not quite figure out how to wrap up the story and the effect seems a little wild and crazy. Some will probably love it for that reason.
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