Sophie's World | Jostien Gaarder | Review by Maham Amir

I have made this cover by multiple sources from google for the purpose of visualization of my content.

Do not claim right over other artists' work.

Sophie's World, originally written in Norwegian, as 'Sofies verden' by Jostien Gaarder in 1991, translated into over 56 languages, and adapted into video game (1997) and movie (1999), is definitely an ingenious, thought provoking, philosophical rich treat to your mind. 

Jostein Gaarder, a philosophy, religion and literature school teacher by profession, has written almost 23 novels and short stories for children. Owing to his profession, he was well aware of the child's perspective of the world and, thus, has often used it in his writings which gives his stories an 

adventurous touch.

My review

The story is centered around Sophie Amundsen, 14 years old school going girl, and starts with the introduction of mysterious letter into her life, which she discovers in her mailbox one day. The letter, named to her, asks very simple yet twisted question, "Who are you?" which leaves her uncomfortable, forcing her to reconsider her identity and personality. Would she really be her even if she were given another name?, she asks herself. Dissatisfied with her physical appearance, she complains of not being provided with the option of choosing her own self. "One could choose their friends, but not himself", she states. Then, as her mind wanders, she considers the possibility of not being born as human but cat. Contemplating at her cat, she thinks about the blissful life it enjoys. Meanwhile, after a series of thought-provoking considerations she realizes the importance of being alive in this temporary world,

"You can't experience being alive without realizing that you have to die. But it's just as impossible to realize you have to die without thinking how incredibly amazing it is to be alive."

 "Where does the world come from?"Meanwhile, as she was still intrigued by to the first question, another letter appears with another astounding question. From there on, she discovers and experiences many unusual things; a dog comes and delivers her more letters, unusual mirror is found and the person who writes her the letters (which later take form of in depth philosophy lectures, referring to Renaissance era and many of it's philosophers: Socrates, Plato to Sarte), remain unknown till quite a time. As Sophie prepares for her 15th birthday party, the story unfolds itself smoothly and she discovers the reality of her life and purpose of existence, all while indulging into an ancient but new for her philosophical world.

- Sophie lives with her mother and enjoys the simple life whilst her father works as a captain in a big oil tanker in Mexico, thereby, spends most of the months away from them. Her mother is also away for work during the daytime and to compensate for the loneliness, she owns a lot of pets. However, with her best friend, Joanna, she was leading a quite jolly childhood until this teacher mysteriously came in her life, and offered her a free philosophical course which, in the end, left her changed forever. 

The novel is quite lengthy with 427 pages in paperback format, but all the time and energy invested in it is indeed worth it in the end. 

Criticism

As some people have criticized the fact that the author has been biased in case of philosophers and introducing their concepts by dedicating pages to Sarte, but only one paragraph to Nietzsche. Probably, it can be said rightly, but I think the book works as introductory trip to magical world and leaves you intrigued to learn more about philosophy, psychology and the past eras. Other than this, the writing style is at times dry, and philosophical ideas are at time, dragged unnecessarily, therefore, some of you maybe tempted to skip some of the pages entirely or skimming through them.

But overall, it is a great book and adventurous read. Also, because of its enriched concepts by numerous thinkers, you may have to read some of the pages twice even to properly absorb every word because philosophy is surely not that easy as it seems at first.   

Genre: Philosophy, Fiction, Classics

Characters:  Sophie, Mother, Joanna, Hilde Moller Knag, Alberto Knox and Albert. 

(Given above are only the leading characters. Meanwhile, you might discover a lot more as you will endeavor in the story yourself)

★ 4.5/5

Recommendation: Definitely recommended for anyone who's interested in philosophy and even if not, I would suggest you to read it otherwise as you will learn plenty of more things about life other than only philosophy. But I would suggest you to take it slow, and maybe couple with another easy book for relaxing your mind for a while, as all the information can become too much at times.

Age group: 10+

✌ Have you read it? Share your views about the book in the comments. Also, would you recommend this to your child/siblings?