Sophie's World
A Novel About the History of Philosophy
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Sophie's World
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Narrated by:
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Simon Vance
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By:
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Jostein Gaarder
About this listen
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, LLCCritic 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)
What listeners say about Sophie's World
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Miti
- 10-05-2022
Very good narration
I liked the book as I learnt a lot about philosophy in very easy language but I didn’t like the fact that writer has a bias about religious and god.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 25-01-2023
Must read for everyone!
I think everyone needs to hear the history of philosophy in this way but honestly what is up with the garden party at the end? I won’t say anymore.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- David
- 14-07-2021
A Guide for the Evolution of Thought
Up there amongst the best books I have ever read. "Sophie at my library
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lauren Bird
- 25-03-2021
Missing a bit in chapter 7
I love this book but the narrator's Sophie voice is really off-putting, nothing like a man speaking like a little girl. Also there is a chunk of the story missing at the end of chapter 7 (about 5 minutes from the end) which is really jarring.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Paige
- 07-04-2017
Great story, well read
Really easy to listen to and not over dramatic. Everyone should listen to/read this book at least once in their lives.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 11-08-2021
Fantastic!
A superbly digestible novel, although dense! What a great way to gain perspective on philosophy and the world we live in. Marvellously entertaining performance to deliver it home.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 22-02-2023
One of my favourites
This book is one of my favourites, one I revisit every few years, and always take something new away.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michael harrington
- 27-02-2023
What a beautiful book
One day I hope to give this book as a gift to my 2 year old daughter perhaps on her 15th birthday :)
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Variety
- 09-10-2019
Buggy file
I got this book in hard copy to reference in further research, as this is philosophy 101 nestled in a story.
I had to refer to the book to figure out what was going on in a couple of sections because the file jumped.
In one instance it missed 3 lines and that changed the whole context because they had moved in those lines.
In another the file jumped forward a chapter and then jumped back to where it had jumped from.
Filed a bug report but yet to be resolved
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nykke
- 29-06-2021
Life Changing Read
Sophie’s World would be a great book made compulsory in all schools!
What a beautiful insight into all the great philosophical leaders of this life time.
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