Sophie's World Audiobook By Jostein Gaarder cover art

Sophie's World

A Novel About the History of Philosophy

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Sophie's World

By: Jostein Gaarder
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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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, LLC World Literature Inspiring Middle Ages

Critic 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)

Featured Article: The Best Philosophy Audiobooks for Getting Lost in Thought


Philosophy asks and analyzes the questions that have pressed on humankind for centuries: What does it mean to be human? Why are we here? From ancient to contemporary times, these questions have been answered with varying, and sometimes contradictory, schools of thought. Our picks span centuries and subjects, and draw parallels across time to embolden listeners to dive deep into questions about the fundamental nature of our reality.

Featured Article The Best Philosophy Audiobooks for Getting Lost in Thought
Creative Concept • Educational Storytelling • Excellent Narration • Engaging Philosophy Introduction • Lovable Protagonist
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While the book itself is wonderful, it should be mentioned that this recording has missing sections (not abridged, but actual dropped audio) and some areas where chapters or sections seem to have been swapped.

For the most part, you'll be able in infer what has happened in the story, but it really is enough to take you out of the experience.

Avoid this particular recording

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I love this book. reccomended during my 1st year of PhD. Perfect beginning to a new chapter in my life and periodically as my worldview evolved. Fun storyline.

5 th time reading!

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Fantastic book with amazing reading. the voice changes and rhythm made the whole thing come together fantastically.

Amazing!

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Sophie’s world is by far one of the greatest philosophy stories I’ve ever read because it keeps you engaged while learning about great philosophers from the past! I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about the world of philosophy.

Sophie’s World breaks the mold of what a philosophy book is

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I read this book in high school and fell in love with it. Hearing the book on audio I fell in love with it again. It really expands your way of thinking causing you to get lost into your thoughts. All I can say is everyone should read this book.

Best way to obtain a short history of Philosophy

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It keept me hooked from the start till end. The voice of the person reading made it soothing.

I will not give spoilers. The story was very well writen.

Will listen again soon 😊

Loved it!

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What an amazing book, it’s truly life changing and will set you on a course of knowledge seeking and understand. I can only sing it’s praises for the rest of my life!

Philosophy for starters

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The philosophy was interesting, an older man meeting a young girl, creepy. It could be how much things have changed since it was written. Before the ending it was kind of weird. Guests and one of the kids parents watching two teenagers starting to really make out, like it's an everyday occurrence. Weird.

Early philosophy

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Where does Sophie's World rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is definitely one of my favorite audible books. Great learning, good story, and as the story continues there is an interesting twist to the plot.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wish I could have. Second best had to do, that is to say, as I was driving back and fort to work.

Any additional comments?

I found that the audio was broken in three places. In two places some audio was missing, in one place two sequences had been turn around. It hurt the story a bit but not too badly.

Great learning, Good story, Interesting twist

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If you could sum up Sophie's World in three words, what would they be?

artistic history of philosophy

What other book might you compare Sophie's World to and why?

another book that is difficult to compare to as it goes well beyond traditional writings of history that become ill in affect and redundant in nature....well thought out and expressed through the refreshing mind of a young adolescent.

Which character – as performed by Simon Vance – was your favorite?

all of the characters were expressions of brilliance of intellect.....the relationship between sophie and alberto was equally brilliant and well developed...both characters, as performed by Vance were worthy of Oscars.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Although not able to because of time constraints; YES, i would have loved to have reveled in one sitting and may return for such an experience.

Any additional comments?

Sophie's World should be common place in Each and Every educational system....every teenage adolescent would benefit immensely from an the open mind of Jostein Gaarder and every mind should remain as inquisitive as the greatest of philosophers.

brief historical masterpiece of philosophy

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