Jostein Gaarder,Anna Massey, Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy

Sophie's World was a big hit when it first came out, and it is certainly different, both for its material - the history of Western philosophy, and for its style, which is fiction within fiction. Sophie is a likeable character, but her world is hard to believe in. She disappears for hours on end to listen to lectures on philosophy given by someone who may or may not be real. The fact that both characters are not 'real' is increasingly odd, and the parallel world of Hilde and her father increasingly confusing. I lost patience about half way through, but still found the will to continue. It's a good introduction to philosophy, and gives the reader a solid account of how ideas of the nature of the world and our existence have evolved and influenced each other. Although it's not a light read, it has playful aspects amongst the dry philosophical content. There is a certain desire to see what happens and how the two worlds co-exist. However, I was glad to come to the end, and I was not entirely convinced that the journey was worth the effort.

If there's a book that I would recommend to someone 14 years-old and above, Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy would be one of the first books I would think of. After reading this, you practically could pass a basic philosophy course. A really great book!!! Worth every second spent reading it!

Jostein Gaarder,Anna Massey, Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy - The book begins with a fifteen-year-old girl, Sophie, who starts to get mysterious letters and notes from a philosopher, Alberto Knox, in the notes he begins by asking simple questions on the nature of life and follows by taking her on a complete journey through history past every period of philosophical thought.

Bit by bit strange things start happening until they begin to think that perhaps there is a greater reason or meaning to their lives.