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Sophie's World: A Novel about the History of…
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Sophie's World: A Novel about the History of Philosophy (original 1991; edition 1996)

by Jostein Gaarder (Author)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
18,648284260 (3.78)174
"One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, each with a question: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" From this irresistible beginning, Sophie becomes obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her Norwegian village. Through successive letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while also receiving letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up? To unravel this riddle, Sophie must use the philosophy she is learning--but the truth turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined."--Page 4 of cover.… (more)
Member:inge87
Title:Sophie's World: A Novel about the History of Philosophy
Authors:Jostein Gaarder (Author)
Info:Berkley (1996), Edition: Reissue, Paperback
Collections:Your library
Rating:****
Tags:fiction, Norwegian fiction, philosophy, history of philosophy

Work Information

Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder (Author) (1991)

  1. 51
    The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder (Percevan)
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    The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (missmaddie)
    missmaddie: As the main characters develop, they also uncover fascinating mysteries with philosophical/psychological significance. Very intellectual reads with twisted, intense plots!
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    The Amnesiac by Sam Taylor (GirlMisanthrope)
  4. 11
    Ishmael by Daniel Quinn (weeksj10)
    weeksj10: Their both lecture style novels which use fiction to present a variety of different thoughts and philosophies.
  5. 00
    Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith (mrsbronwyngreen)
  6. 00
    Looking At Philosophy: The Unbearable Heaviness of Philosophy Made Lighter by Donald Palmer (Cecrow)
    Cecrow: Another fun introduction to philosophy from a former professor. "Does the Centre Hold?" is also very good.
  7. 00
    The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World's Greatest Philosophers by Will Durant (Cecrow)
  8. 00
    Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld (beyondthefourthwall)
    beyondthefourthwall: Experimental metafiction that looks like a bit of a gimmick from afar but up close manages to pull it off.
  9. 00
    The Helmet of Horror: The Myth of Theseus and the Minotaur by Viktor Pelevin (spiphany)
  10. 01
    Det store eventyret om virkeligheten : en fantastisk fortelling om den nye fysikken by Jack Falao (Percevan)
  11. 03
    Sorcery and Cecelia, or, The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede (missmaddie)
    missmaddie: Both books contain letter correspondence, and they also both have supernatural/fantasy elements. Likable girls as the main characters.
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» See also 174 mentions

English (217)  Spanish (20)  Dutch (11)  French (7)  Portuguese (Brazil) (4)  Italian (4)  Finnish (4)  German (3)  Swedish (3)  Portuguese (Portugal) (2)  Norwegian (2)  Portuguese (2)  Catalan (1)  Danish (1)  All languages (281)
Showing 1-5 of 217 (next | show all)
The biggest part of the plot consist of monologues of Sofie's teacher Alberto. The book gives a nice overview of the history of philosophy, in such a way that it is even understandable for relatively young children. It is in general quite educational, and definitely worth reading at least once. However, the beginning of the book suggests that the plot also consist of a detective-like storyline. The author does not elaborate any further once the reader has become interested in the little personal mystery of Sofie and her world. The book ends quite abruptly, and that left me confused and utterly disappointed. ( )
  jd7h | Feb 18, 2024 |
I read this book when I was in highschool studying history of philosophy. For me there's not better gateway to this topic as this book, it's super didactic and it's written as an actual mistery specially at the beginning. ( )
  omseijas | Feb 3, 2024 |
Nos meus tempos de escola, nunca tive um grande interesse pela filosofia, em parte devido à forma como a disciplina foi apresentada e à professora que não conseguiu cativar-me. Era preciso um livro que despertasse o interesse do meu eu adolescente, que me fizesse ligar mais à matéria, e não apenas tratá-la como uma cadeira de memorizar conceitos e pessoas. É aqui que entra "O Mundo de Sofia". Este livro é único, combinando elementos de ficção com uma ampla variedade de conceitos filosóficos, desde a antiguidade até à filosofia moderna, através de um estilo narrativo acessível para jovens adultos.

O autor tem um estilo de escrita claro e acessível, tornando os conceitos filosóficos complexos apresentados no livro compreensíveis para leitores de todos os níveis. A bem-sucedida integração de ficção e filosofia adiciona um elemento interessante ao livro, tornando-o uma experiência de leitura verdadeiramente única e atraente.

No entanto, o ritmo da narrativa é bastante inconstante, com algumas partes da história (ou melhor, conceitos filosóficos) sendo melhor apresentados do que outros. Além disso, alguns conceitos filosóficos são simplificados ao ponto de serem excessivamente simplificados, o que para um principiante é ótimo, mas que me deixou a querer entrar mais em detalhes antes de avançar para o próximo.

Apesar destas limitações, "O Mundo de Sofia" continua a ser um livro bem escrito e interessante, oferecendo uma excelente introdução à filosofia para leitores de todos os níveis. Para quem procura uma forma envolvente e única de aprender sobre filosofia, recomendo vivamente este livro.

Eu adorei descobrir o meu amor pela filosofia graças a este livro e gostei imenso da história e da reflexão que me fez ter. Embora não tenha gostado dos personagens, especialmente de Sofia, gostei da história e do final. No entanto, fiquei com vontade de saber mais sobre algumas filosofias e conceitos em detalhes. Este livro fez-me pensar em procurar outros livros de filosofia, o que significa que a sua missão foi cumprida.

Daria a este livro uma classificação de 4.5/5. ( )
  Jcpinto91 | Jan 25, 2024 |
The narrative framework that surrounds what is a light introduction to philosophy just doesn't work. The premise of the young girl receiving a philosophy class from a stranger is enough to draw you in, but as it grows ever more recursive it's only an annoyance, not some post-modern masterstroke - and so we end up with a half baked philosophy introduction in a convoluted and unsatisfying layered framework story. ( )
  A.Godhelm | Oct 20, 2023 |
Philosophy is not really my thing, but this is perfect for teenagers to get a good basic understanding of philosophy in the least painful manner. ( )
  CMDoherty | Oct 3, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 217 (next | show all)
As philoso-narrative, "Sophie's World" is a world above "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" but a universe below "The Magic Mountain." In my view, literate readers would do better to try Bertrand Russell's "History of Western Philosophy," which is shorter on magic but longer on wit, intelligence and curmudgeonly skepticism.
 

» Add other authors (36 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Gaarder, JosteinAuthorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Buchholz, QuintCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Eriksson, MonaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Haefs, GabrieleTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Klok, JankeTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Møller, PauletteTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pijttersen, LucyTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Savolainen, KatriinaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Snoeijing, KimTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Stevens, PaulaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vance, SimonNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
الحويك عطية , حياةTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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"One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, each with a question: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" From this irresistible beginning, Sophie becomes obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her Norwegian village. Through successive letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while also receiving letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up? To unravel this riddle, Sophie must use the philosophy she is learning--but the truth turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined."--Page 4 of cover.

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Book description
Sofia Amundsen è una ragazzina dalla vita per niente straordinaria. Tutto cambia quando cominciano a spuntare strane domande dalla sua cassetta delle lettere, poi le curiose risposte dell'eccentrico filosofo Alberto Knox per cui Sofia approderà a una bislacca festa di compleanno, nel giardino degli Amundsen. Ma la storia di Sofia non è soltanto un giallo raffinato o un incredibile romanzo d'avventura. Si tratta anche della più divertente storia dell'uomo e del suo pensiero che sia mai stata scritta.
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