The novel Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder is both a tale about a young girl and an introduction to philosophy. It is not only a mystery but also a statement on existence and the world we inhabit. Here is a short summary of what happens in the book.
Sophie Amundsen is a 14-year-old girl who lives in Norway. One day, she receives a letter in her mailbox with a question: “Who are you?” Soon after, she receives another question: “Where does the world come from?” These questions made her curious, and soon Sophie starts receiving more letters with lessons about philosophy.
The Philosophy Lessons:
Behind the letters are the person of Alberto Knox. Alberto becomes the philosophy teacher of Sophie, explaining history in human thought from the ancient Greeks through time to modern philosophers. Sophie learns from Alberto about the famous thinkers such as:
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle: They spoke about questions concerning the real and good things.
Descartes: He says, “I think, therefore I am.”
Kant, Hume, and Locke: They discussed how we understand the world and how we gain knowledge.
Marx, Darwin, Freud: They were all concerned with society, evolution, and the human mind.
These lessons help Sophie understand different ways people have tried to explain life and the universe over thousands of years.
Sophie’s World Summary:
As Sophie is learning, weird things begin to happen. She discovers personal belongings in her house that don’t belong to her, and she gets letters addressed to a person named Hilde Moller Knag whom she has never seen. She eventually discovers that Hilde’s father, Albert Knag, is writing her story as a present for his daughter. Therefore, Sophie and Alberto are characters within his book.
This realization dawns on Sophie and Alberto, and they decide to escape from the story.
The story then becomes surreal and complicated as Sophie and Alberto try to get out of the predicament of being part of someone else’s imagination. Meanwhile, Hilde reads their story and becomes fascinated with Sophie.
The book ends rather philosophically or mysteriously: readers are put to think seriously about big questions and what is and isn’t: what is real? Or are we, after all?
Novel Details:
| Title | Sophie’s World |
| Author | Jostein Gaarder |
| Publishing Date | December 5, 1991 |
| Genre | Philosophy |
| Rating | 5/5 |
Sophie’s World FAQs:
This is book about a very young girl who slowly learns the purpose of world. She is and intelligent girl who is creative as well as curious about the weird world. The philosophical approach of this book is really outstanding.
With Sophie’s World, one learns to ask questions about life and not take things for granted. More importantly, one learns through the story that philosophy is about being curious and wondering why things are the way they are. The book is kind of an adventure story combined with a lesson in thinking deeply about existence.
It is very general philosophical book , everyone can enjoy it from young teenagers to adults. It is containing lessons for both.
