Book Review: --Sophie's World-- by Jostein Gaarder

~Today I bring you yet another book review, of Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder, an author from Norway. The book was translated into English by Paulette Møller, and the book became the #1 international bestseller in 1995 and remains enormously popular.

Sophie's World defies classification into a specific genre, so I'll give you a brief introduction to the plot. The story begins with the titular character, a young Norwegian girl named Sophie. One day, Sophie finds a letter in the mailbox addressed to her, which consists of only two simple questions:

Who are you?

and

Where does the world come from?

These "big questions" at first seem to have no answer, and Sophie, an intelligent girl, begins questioning her own life to a degree that most of us haven't done since we were children. She begins a correspondence with a mysterious individual who instructs her on the entire history of human philosophy. Sophie learns how philosophers throughout the ages have attempted to answer the questions that keep thinkers awake at night, and drive my younger sister absolutely crazy.

This may sound a bit dull to you, but if you think this is merely a basic introduction to philosophy, you're wrong. As Sophie's education continues, strange events begin to unfold and seemingly impossible events take place. Slowly, we as readers come to realize that what constitutes reality for Sophie may in fact be very different from our reality.

But is Sophie's world really so different from our own? I don't want to give away too much, but I will say this: the reality that Gaarder constructs in the novel is one in which all of the questions of existence are answered...although the answers are nothing like what you, or Sophie, would expect.

This novel is very deep, but it's brilliantly written in a way that's easy to read. Paulette Møller has given us an excellent English translation, although she sometimes uses worlds that are not in common usage in English (my favorite was "bagatelle"). At the very least, this expanded my vocabulary. Another useful aspect of the text is that the names of all the philosophers and scientists discussed in the novel are cast in bold text, making it easier to follow just what Sophie (and by default, the reader) is learning.

To summarize, Sophie's World is a fascinating, deep novel that may cause you to question your very existence and that of the world around you. This is a profound book that starts off as easy to read, but becomes more difficult to follow later on. Truly understanding what happens requires both an open mind and a significant amount of thought, so if you're looking for "beach reading" or "chicklit", this is not the book for you.

If, however, you're the kind of person that still asks "big questions" that nobody has answered to your satisfaction, then Sophie's World will delight and fascinate you. I have read many, many books in my life, and I can say without hesitation that Sophie's World is one of the best books I've ever read. If you do read it (or have read it), then please share your thoughts with me. ~Oyasumi!