Sophie’s World
This last week I have been reading Sophie’s World (Sofies Verden) by Jostein Gaarder. One of his earlier books, The Solitaire Mystery (Kabalmysteriet), is one of my all time favorite books, so I figured I should read this one as well, which is his most famous novel.
It’s basically an introduction to philosophy, wrapped in a novel. Sophie, a 15 year old girl, has an encounter with a middle aged man who starts writing her mysterious notes relating to philosophy and essentially makes her his pupil, as he takes her through the history of philosophy throughout the world, up until the 20th century. As events unfold, Sophie starts questioning life and her existence, something which is only further fueled when she gets mixed up into strange events concerning a seemingly non-existent girl in another world.
The first half of the novel went rather slowly, consisting mostly of facts and with very little progression of the actual story. The second half of the book was a much more enjoyable read however. It certainly makes you think twice about life in some way or another. Still, it doesn’t even come close to the joy that is The Solitaire Mystery, which is at least twice as awesome in my opinion.