Review: Sophie's World

I read Sophie's World for the first time when I was about fifteen years old.  I remember being both intrigued and - well - maybe *a tad* bored with it.  The story itself can best be described as a delightfully quirky exercise in metafiction: it opens from the perspective of the title character and gradually shifts to that of Hilde, the girl who is, along with reader, reading the story about Sophie (who is solely a fictional character within the story).  Little hints disguised as eerie coincidences are dropped throughout the first half of the novel, tempting the reader to discover the truth.  In the second half of the novel, Sophie tries to find a way to escape the clutches of Hilde's father, writer of 'Sophie's World' and therefore an all-powerful-god of sort within the context of the story.

Sophie attempts to break free using the knowledge of the history philosophy she acquires throughout the novel by taking a correspondence-style course on the subject.  By default, Hilde and the reader of Sophie's World are also instructed in the history of philosophy.  Honestly, I wish I had more patience for the long passages describing in detail the ideas of every great thinker from Socrates to Freud.  Alas, I found myself skimming over them more often than not.  It's not that I'm not interested in the ideas, so much as they seem flat next to such a unique and engaging story.  I think I've mentioned before that I prefer fiction to reality, and something that so self-consciously examines the power of stories and their authors will always capture my interest over anything that resembles a chronological listing of facts.

Moreover, despite being educated in the ways of Western philosophy, these days I find myself more interested in its Eastern counterpart - look for a review of Deepak Chopra's Buddha, hopefully coming soon.  Overall, I think I got more out of the novel the second time, if for no other reason than that I have studied most of the philosophers it references (i.e. so the fact that I skimmed over those sections wasn't such a big deal).  The story itself is more cool and unique than deep and literary, and I certainly didn't experience any major revelations like I did the second time through certain other novels.  (I'm thinking about YOU, The Sun Also Rises).  This is a great book for teens, but also for adults who are looking to learning the basics of philosophy and/or be entertained by an extraordinary story.