Jostein Gaarder

¿Cuál sería nuestra reacción ante la noticia de una enfermedad terminal?
Me encantó el libro porque explora la desesperación y desesperanza de la certeza de la muerte, además del peso propio y a la familia de una enfermedad. El protagonista expone sus pensamientos de forma cruda, sin sentimentalismos vacíos.
Me caló mil veces más que el libro anterior en cuanto a la búsqueda del sentido de la existencia. En palabras de John Donne: "No man is an island entire of itself; every man is show more a piece of the continent, a part of the main". show less

"Where does the world come from?," the interrogative narrator of this thoughtful Norwegian picture-book asks, going on to pose a long string of similar questions about the nature of the world and universe, our role in it as human beings, and our relationship to those around us, and to those no longer with us. The nature of time, the possible existence of angels and/or ghosts, the question of what the world will look like in the distant future, these are all among the 'questions show more asked.'

Originally published in Norway as Det spørs, this thoughtful little book comes from the pen of Josten Gaarder, author of the acclaimed philosophical novel, Sophie's World. Like that earlier work for older readers, in Questions Asked Gaardner is interested in the big issues, and his young narrator raises many questions that philosophers have struggled with for millennia. The accompanying artwork by Turkish-Norwegian illustrator Akin Düzakin is absolutely beautiful, expanding the textual narrative (which is, after all, simply a set of questions) into a real story, as it quickly becomes evident that the young narrator is struggling with some sort of loss. The artwork hints, through its depictions of the boy's memories of playing with a companion (most likely, a twin brother), and then his solitary journey with a box of treasured mementos, a journey in which he is followed by some sort of spirit, that the narrator is being prompted to ask these questions by the death of someone very close to him. That added level of meaning gives the book extra poignancy. Recommended to anyone looking for children's books to start a philosophical and/or theological conversation with young people, or for picture-books that address (albeit indirectly) death and loss. show less

A bit preposterous – wrapping a history of philosophy in a somewhat cheesy but innocently fun YA novel. Somehow it works, though. And the sum is greater – you know. The history’s a mixed bag, e.g. weak on Plato and Aristotle, but overall surprisingly good. And how would you do those guys justice in this format anyway? The overview of Pre-Socratics is pretty decent, as is the synopsis of Hellenistic thought, and the author does surprisingly well with Hegel in the space he has (not too show more bad with Kant either, but thin).

He also does a very nice job of outlining commonalities among Indo-European cultures, contrasting them with ancient Israelite culture and sketching the strange brew that formed the West – an odd marriage of Jewish and Greek thought (though he goofs here and there, e.g. repeatedly using “Semitic” where he probably means “classical Israelite” or similar). But it’s a YA novel, right? It gets a bit silly in that department, but that’s okay – it keeps your attention, and it probably tricked a lot of people into reading a history of philosophy who otherwise never would have. show less

***NO SPOILERS***

(Full disclosure: Book abandoned on page 234 [out of 394 pages].)

The premise for Sophie's World is ingenious. It's a story about Sophie Amundsen, a sweet fourteen-year-old Norwegian girl who one day begins receiving mysterious letters. The letters are addressed to a girl named Hilde, a girl who sounds just like Sophie, right down to age--yet they come to Sophie's house and are meant for her.

These are highly unusual letters. They're about philosophy and the history of show more philosophy, each letter focusing on a different philosopher such as Aristotle, Sophocles, and Plato.

Jostein Gaarder's idea--of nonfiction philosophy lessons embedded in fictional mystery--is unique and clever, but it was all that impressed me about Sophie's World. The philosophy lessons overshadow Sophie's story to the point that Sophie's World is really just a philosophy textbook masquerading as a magical-realist mystery. This could be forgiven if the lessons were engaging, but they're dry as dust. This book has its fans, so clearly some disagree; however, even I, someone who looked forward to her philosophy classes in high school and college, was bored during most of each philosophy lesson.

The best parts of Sophie's World are the fictional parts--Sophie's actual world: the time spent with her friend, her reading of the letters in her garden hideout, her interactions with her mom. That is a story. Gaarder was a philosophy teacher, so it isn't really surprising that Sophie's World is so heavy on philosophy. It's just a shame, because the mystery and magical realism elements are smart and are deserving of at least as many pages.

This was such a missed opportunity that I feel disappointed for Gaarder. Philosophy is like history; it needs to be brought to life to be fully appreciated. In the case of philosophy in particular, it's helpful to find a connection to one's own life in some way.

By grounding the lessons in the story of an everyday girl, that's what Gaarder was going for, but he didn't integrate and connect the lessons to the main character's life successfully. The lessons remain a separate entity from the mystery so that Sophie's World feels like someone ripped chapters out of a textbook and inserted them between chapters of a mystery story. What I wanted to see, what I was hoping for, was a book that was mostly a mystery with a sprinkling of philosophy--philosophy that then interacted with the mystery in ways that add dimension and pleasant surprise.

Although I read more than half of Sophie's World, I was so bored I couldn't bear reading another page. I was, however, curious enough to know how it ended that I looked up a plot summary. It looks like Gaarder finally connected all the philosophy lessons in a whirlwind at the end and that this is when the story is at its best. If only he'd connected throughout, Sophie's World would be a much better book.

I don't recommend this widely, and I don't know who its ideal audience is. I think Sophie's World is best suited to die-hard philosophy lovers only; however, with its child protagonist (and a child protagonist who's unwittingly drawn into philosophy lessons at that), Sophie's World seems aimed at teens, as an educational mystery.

In addition to being dull, though, the philosophy is dense and obscure at times. Those teens who do read and enjoy Sophie's World may not fully grasp its various philosophies. High school philosophy teachers could have students read it as a supplement (or maybe not, as it's not so different from a straight textbook).

Adult readers could enjoy this, but that's unlikely if they're not interested in philosophy. Adapted as a graphic novel--a format I think would work beautifully for Sophie's World--it might attract a wider variety of readers, and actually be fun to read.

The fact that it's hard to pin down Sophie's World’s intended audience is further proof to me that Gaarder began writing his book more on the fly than with fully thought-out deliberation. Sadly, what he ended up with is a dull textbook with a half-hearted mystery tossed in for palatability. show less