SOPHIE'S WORLD

SOPHIE’S WORLD

…..a review

It is a novel about the history of philosophy written by Jostein Gaarder. He was born in 1952 in Oslo, Norway. He made his literary debut in 1986 with a collection of short stories, which was soon followed by two young adult novels. In 1990 he received the Norwegian Literary Critic’s Award and the Ministry of cultural and Scientific Affairs Literary Prize for his book THE SOLITAIRE MYSTERY.

SOPHIE’S WORLD, Gaarder’s first book to appear in the English language, occupied the #1 spot on Norway’s bestseller list for three years. Now published in 30 countries, the novel has also enjoyed #1 bestseller status in Great Britain, Germany and France and has appeared on bestseller lists in Italy, Spain, Canada, Denmark, Sweden and the United States.

This book is a comprehensive history of Western philosophy as recounted to a 14 year old Norwegian school girl named Sophie Amudsen.

One day Sophie comes home from school to find two questions in her mail: Who are you? And Where does the world come from?

Before knowing it she is enrolled in a correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre and beyond, with a mysterious philosopher. Till the major half of the novel, this philosopher is hidden to both Sophie and the readers. But gradually with the valuable power of thinking and reasoning induced in her through her correspondence course, she succeeds in unmasking this mysterious guy. But the end to suspense has not yet come. Apart from the correspondence course letters, Sophie is receiving a separate batch of equally unusual letters. These letters are mailed to one Hilde Moller Knag, a person totally unknown to Sophie, by her father and what is more astonishing is that these letters are addressed under Sophie’s care-of.

Who is this Hilde? Why does her mail keep turning up in Sophie’s mail box? and Why does Hilde’s father want her to meet Sophie? To unravel this riddle, Sophie must make use of the philosophy she is learning. But the truth is far more complicated than she could have imagined.

Each letter to Hilde reveals certain stuff that that compels Sophie to think that she is in someway related to this stranger. At the end of it all, Sophie painfully realizes that she, her philosophy teacher and all the others around her are mere characters in a novel that Hilde’s father has personally written and gifted to her on her birthday.

Thus by the climax of its time for the readers to make use of the philosophy they have learnt so far from the novel.

It has been very intelligently written. The writer’s workmanship could be ,made out from the fact that the novel does not begin from where it has to and it as it is, there cold be no better beginning for it.

The book will serve as a first- rate introduction to any one who never took an introductory philosophy course and as a pleasant refresher for those who have and forgotten most of it.

It is just as remarkable for its playful premise as it is for acceptability. The essential charm of SOPHIE’S WORLD lies in the innocent curiosity of the young character, and the clever narrative structure Gaarder designed to pique it.

The only negative thing to say about it is that it might turn a bit strenuous for the impatient readers. Philosophy-haters may be warned to stay away from it.

ROHINI