Synopses & Reviews
One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, with one question on each: Who are you? and Where does the world come from? From that strange--but irresistible--beginning, Sophie becomes obsessed with these and other questions that explore matters both small and large, some that take her mind far beyond what she knows of her family and life in her Norwegian village. Through those letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while receiving a separate batch of equally unusual letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up in Sophie's world? To unravel this riddle, Sophie must make use of the philosophy she is learning--but the truth turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined.
A page-turning novel that is also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought, Sophie's World has fired the imagination of readers all over the world, having been translated into forty-five languages and with over twenty million copies in print.
Review
"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
Review
Praise for
Sophie's World:
"Extraordinary...read it for yourself."--Newsweek
"A simply wonderful, irresistible book...a cross between Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy and Alice in Wonderland."--Daily Telegraph
"Sophie's World is sheer delight. How I wish I'd had it during my college freshman survey of philosophy!"--Madeleine L'Engle
Review
“First, think a beginners 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 "This book contains a novel mantra for those days when the world gets in your face."—
Entertainment Weekly “Extraordinary…read it for yourself.”—
Newsweek
“A simply wonderful, irresistible book...a cross between Bertrand Russells History of Western Philosophy and Alice in Wonderland.”—Daily Telegraph
“Sophies World is sheer delight. How I wish Id had it during my college freshman survey of philosophy!”—Madeleine LEngle
Synopsis
A page-turning novel that is also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought,
Sophie's World has fired the imagination of readers all over the world, with more than twenty million copies in print.
One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, 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.
Synopsis
A classic page-turner that explores what it means to live in our modern world, available for the first time as an audiobook
Synopsis
A page-turning novel that is also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought,
Sophie's World has fired the imagination of readers all over the world, with more than twenty million copies in print.
One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, 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.
About the Author
Jostein Gaarder was born in Oslo, Norway, in 1952. He taught high school philosophy for several years, before publishing a collection of short stories in 1986 and, shortly thereafter, his first two novels,
The Solitaire Mystery and
Sophies World, and several others since then. He lives in Oslo with his family.
Simon Vance is the critically acclaimed narrator of approximately 400 audiobooks, winner of twenty-seven
AudioFile Earphones Awards, and a twelve-time Audie nominee (including three nominations for the 2007 multi-cast recording of
Dune). He won an Audie in 2006 in the category of Science Fiction and was named the 2009 Best Voice in Fiction & Classics and the 2008 Best Voice in Mystery & Suspense by
AudioFile magazine.
Simon has been a narrator for the past twenty-five years, and he also worked for many years as a BBC Radio presenter and newsreader in London. Some of his best-selling and most critically acclaimed performances include Ian Flemings Casino Royale, Mark Haddons A Spot of Bother, Patrick OBrians Master and Commander series (all 21 titles), the new productions of Frank Herberts original Dune series, Stieg Larssons The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Rob Giffords China Road (an AudioFile 2007 Book of the Year). Simon lives near San Francisco with his wife and two sons.