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Sophie's World

A Novel About the History of Philosophy

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Sophie's World

By: Jostein Gaarder
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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About this listen

One day, 14-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find two notes in her mailbox, with one question on each: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?"

From that irresistible beginning, Sophie becomes obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her Norwegian village. Through those letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while 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.

A pause-resisting novel that is also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought, Sophie's World has fired the imagination of listeners all over the world, having been translated into 45 languages and with over 20 million copies in print.

©1991 H. Aschelhoug and Co. (W. Nygaard), Oslo. Translation 1994 Paulette Moller (P)2007 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature Thought-Provoking Middle ages

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Critic reviews

"Gaarder pulls off the difficult feat of blending philosophy and entertainment in a way that will capture [young adults'] interest and make them eager to explore further." (School Library Journal)
"First, think a beginner's guide to philosophy....Next, imagine a fantasy novel - something like a modern-day version of Through the Looking Glass. Meld these disparate genres, and what do you get? Well, what you get is an improbable international bestseller...[A] tour de force." (Time)
"Sophie's World is sheer delight. How I wish I'd had it during my college freshman survey of philosophy!" (Madeleine L'Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time)
All stars
Most relevant  
The idea of writing the history of philosophy in a language suitable for for young adults is a stroke of genius in itself. But Gaarder's brings it to life in a plot that is imaginative, humorous and faithful to the subject at all times. Finally, Simon Vance's performance adds an extra dimension to this already extraordinary take. Its as if the characters were telling it themselves!

Outstanding combination of subject, story telling and performance.

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The majority of the book is very good. I actually feel that I know more of the general layout of philosophy.

I found the chapters on science at times boring, inaccurate and infuriating. Scientific accuracy is of course not the main point of the book but the errors annoyed me and brought me out of the story. The chapters on Darwin and Freud dragged, and Alberto's framing of evolution as having direction was particularly infuriating. It picked up again after that though, and was a very clever and altogether delightful listen.

The narrator's voice for Sophie grated on me but I got used to it.

A great book with some niggling scientific errors

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The way that the author chooses to tell us about the history of philosophy is brilliant.
Also he makes us think outside of the box.
I would suggest this book to every human in the planet!!!!!

This is not a book but a gift to the humanity

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This audiobook has helped me to get a good overview over the most important philosophical movements and to understand better their relevance within their historical context. I think that the story about Sophie and Alberto was quite nice, but it didn’t really exite me. Maybe that’s also because I’m from a much younger generation. Generally, I liked the approach of motivating the readers to think for themselves and to question the world around them.

A good summary

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I found this book very interesting, if a little heavy at times. And I confess that I would not pass a test on what I've learnt about philosophy! Nonetheless I am glad that I persevered because it was a lot of fun too.

Simon Vance's narration is very good - except for when he voices Sophie. His voice for her (bearing in mind that she is 15) is more like a little girl of 7 or 8. If you can just put that behind you, you will be fine!

Unique

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This book was intriguing from beginning to end! and the narration was absolutely spot on! You should definitely give it a listen!

Phenomenal

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The fact that there is a narrative makes it so engaging, I love it! The reader’s performances were really great as well.

Mind-blown!

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Fantastic story built around the subject of philosophy. I'd recommend this book to everyone over the age of 12, as essential reading. Beautifully narrated too.

Excellent Story

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An excellent bird's eye view of the history of philosophy and a good blend of fiction to keep the reader engaged.

Excellent

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Recommended for all oriole who wants a book to start and understand philosophy. Brief and clear explanation of common philosophical ideas. Interstate story as well.

Great book

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