Why you must read 'Sophie's World'

Most probably, the revelation of the full title of the book will be sufficient for some to grab a copy of it straightaway. Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy is a Norwegian classic published in 1991. For those who do not find the idea of narrating the ‘history of philosophy’ in a ‘fiction novel’ compelling in itself and are still reading this blog; the book has a lot more to offer. Sophie’s World, as the name suggests, revolves around the events that take place in the life of 14 years old Sophie Amundsen as her 15^th birthday approaches. The book opens with the perplexed thoughts of Sophie when her friend suggests that the human mind is like an advanced computer; she wonders ‘surely a person is more than a piece of hardware?’ And then Gaarder knits a whole new world around her; I mean, he literally weaves a ‘new world’. In Sophie’s World, two threads run simultaneously. First, there is the story of Sophie & the mysterious Alberto Knox, from whom she randomly starts recieving letters containing philosophy lessons. The second thread is the history of philosophy itself. And when these two seemingly unrelated threads intermingle with each other, they unfold one of the finest philosophical thrillers ever written. The genre of the book, in my opinion, would be ‘philosophical suspense’ if there exists any such genre in the first place.

Taking into account the subconscious levels and dimensions at which the plot of the novel works, it would not be inappropriate to call Sophie’s World the Matrix or the Inception of the philosophical world. Gaarder’s ingenuity in Sophie’s World is commendable. In the novel, Gaarder analyses various strands of philosophy, like the Greek, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist and, of course, the overarching modern European philosophy. It is an account of 3000 years of philosophical inquiry. Sophie’s World is full of existential questions like- Who are we? Where does the world come from? What is a human being? Is there life after death? Giving no false hopes, the novel does not attempt to answer any of these questions. But the book does highlight the importance of posing such questions and contemplating them nevertheless. Gaarder has put in a brave attempt to portray that philosophy cannot be discarded as a fruitless pursuit. Although, the most enjoyable feature of the novel is the innocent curiosity of the young protagonist and the clever narrative that Gaarder builds around her to pique it. Sophie’s World is fun to read and it pushes the limits of the reader’s imagination. Moreover, for older readers, it will also act as a synopsis of the basic knowledge that they gained in their schools and probably left it there as it is- untouched.

For a change, the language is simple in a work translated to English (it was originally written in Norwegian). Even though a philosophical book which requires constant reflection, thinking, and introspection, the novel can, more or less, be characterized as a smooth reading experience (just don’t just skim through the book- read and reflect, please!).