Sophie's World

A Novel About the History of Philosophy

By: Jostein Gaarder

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 16 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

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

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)

Loved it!

It keept me hooked from the start till end. The voice of the person reading made it soothing.

I will not give spoilers. The story was very well writen.

Will listen again soon 😊

Philosophy for starters

What an amazing book, it’s truly life changing and will set you on a course of knowledge seeking and understand. I can only sing it’s praises for the rest of my life!

Early philosophy

The philosophy was interesting, an older man meeting a young girl, creepy. It could be how much things have changed since it was written. Before the ending it was kind of weird. Guests and one of the kids parents watching two teenagers starting to really make out, like it's an everyday occurrence. Weird.

Easy-to-Read, Broad Overview of Western Philosophy

If you've heard of names in philosophy like Nietzsche, Hume, Plotinus and the like, wanted to learn more and didn't know where to start, this is an excellent read. The book is targeted for the intellectual YA audience, but I think it's great for anyone looking for an introduction into this field.

I really appreciated the history of western theology present in the book as well--I wasn't expecting that to be present, but it's a very necessary component for what this book is trying to accomplish. Hearing someone talk about Jesus as just another philosopher in a historical context was very refreshing.

I found Spinoza, Kant and Kierkegaard and Sartre to be most interesting. And the pre-Socratics. And the Renaissance. And Marx. And the British empiricists. Heck, it's ALL interesting. Now there's a whole slew of other authors and titles that I want to read.

The fictional plot is a pleasant-enough vehicle for the book. I didn't find myself engrossed with the characters, but that wasn't why I read this title. I appreciated the acknowledgement of philosophy's male-centric history, and that more women are needed in the field. Perhaps that's why Gaarder chose his characters to be teenage girls, to encourage the girls of today to take up philosophy--nice touch.

Vance's narration was fine. It took a little while to get used to his "reading a storybook" intonation, but that actually fits the title well.

I wouldn't be surprised if I decide to read this title again in 2-3 years; a credit well-spent for sure.

A bizzare story hidden in a philosophy history.

If you could sum up Sophie's World in three words, what would they be?

fascinating then distracting.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

near the end the Author kept going off track and bringing random characters into the story. That added nothing and was just disappointing. Like hearing a symphony end with a rim-shot.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

At first, yes. but in later chapters the book really lost its footing.

Any additional comments?

while the overall book servers as a fantastic primer on the history of world philosophy, the story that rides the history, while certainly interesting, was far to distracting near the end.

Good informative book on Philosphy

It was a good basic story on history of Philosophy. Unfortunately it was just too long and the writer couldn't keep the interest to the end.

Great beginning

The beginning of the book was great as an introductory history of philosophy. It was presented in a pretty interesting way.
The second half had several strange aspects. It seemed to address personal social issues rather than giving a history of philosophy. I personally don't consider Marx, Darwin, or Freud to be philosophers. The ending really seemed too abrupt and nonsensical. While this is not an adult book, I would make sure you agreed with this book before handing it to a child.
On the upside I would recommend it to any college student who might be struggling to understand their intro to philosophy class. The first half of the book presents the basics in an easy to understand format.
As an educator of children, who likes classical education, I was initially pleased, but ultimately disappointed.

Perfection

I could listen to this again and again. The performance is truly sublime and fitting for this classic.

Awesome

although I do not concur with many of the conclusions and stipulations presented here it was a fantastic overview in a fun way of reliving philosophy.

Brilliant book with fabulous distinct voices

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The book is an absolutely amazing summary of philosophy told to you in a philosophical way. This is a book that I likely will go back to even knowing the plot (the mystery in it is great) I would recommend writing your thoughts on how things are happening in between sections (Typically when Sophie asks a deep question you havent heard in a while about the story, you should try to answer it)

What did you like best about this story?

The mystery, the incorporation of philosophy, the teaching method of this philosophy and the amount the story draws you in to sympathize with the characters, and with yourself.

Which character – as performed by Simon Vance – was your favorite?

The characters all have amazing voices each fitting to the person spoken for with as much emotion as I'd imagine the author intended, I'd say my favorite would have to be Sophie's, it would be harder for me to grasp a guy spoke it than for me to believe it wasn't a little girl who narrated it. I find myself enjoying hearing Sophie speak, she's always saying the best of things and asking the best of questions with an amazingly lovable voice.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There were plenty of times when things went so crazy that it actually was hilarious, or times when Sophie made a remark that perfectly responded to an idea generally in a burn type of way

Any additional comments?

This is my second favorite book (the Bible is first.)