
Sophie's World
A Novel About the History of Philosophy
FSG ClassicsJostein Gaarder; Translated by Paulette Møller
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
One day Sophie comes home from school to find two questions in her mail: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" Before she knows it she is enrolled in a correspondence course with a mysterious philosopher. Thus begins Jostein Gaarder's unique novel, which is not only a mystery, but also a complete and entertaining history of philosophy.
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Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder--Audiobook Excerpt
Listen to this audiobook excerpt from Jostein Gaarder's novel Sophie's World. 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.
Share ThisPraise for Sophie's World
“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
“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 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