“Sophie’s World: A Novel about the History of Philosophy” by Jostein Gaarder

For the last month, I’ve had trouble settling in and reading. Email, Facebook, afternoon movies, my novel in progress, and way too many NY Times Crossword puzzles enticed me, and I gave in to their power. I started a couple of books and couldn’t finish them. I didn’t like that state. It didn’t feel like “me”.

I noticed a copy of SOPHIE’S WORLD in my home office bookcase. I didn’t know where it came from, but I remembered that my son in law, Todd, who teaches philosophy, had told me he thought I’d like it. When I saw it two days later at Island Books on Mercer Island, below a sign that said “Read this year by students at Mt. Si High School”, I decided a high school philosophy book just might do the trick for my tired, addled brain, and started reading SOPHIE’S WORLD.

Sophie Admundsen is a fourteen-year-old Norwegian girl who finds, in her mailbox, questions about human existence and answers via “lessons” on Western philosophy. SOPHIE’S WORLD is both a mystery about how and why these “lessons” are being delivered and a study of how philosophy has changed during the period from Socrates to Sartre.

And it’s good. Really good. Clear without being condescending, the lessons in the book balance just enough information with just enough reflection on Sophie’s part to keep me interested in material I’d probably not stick with in a textbook. I was tickled to like it so much and to find that its “big picture” approach assures and comforts me by making me feel insignificant (in a good way).

“Ed!” I said. “You need to check this out. It’s soooo good!”

Ed started and loved it too, so, now, I’m reading it aloud to him at night before we sleep. This is slowing us down a tad, since we’ve both been known to nod off in the middle of a joint read, but, hey, we’re retired and can spare the time. I probably won’t take an intro philosophy course anytime soon. But SOPHIE’S WORLD—It’s an amazing, satisfying read. I highly recommend it.

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