SOPHIE'S WORLD A Novel About the History of Philosophy

Synopsis

Imagine being a regular teenager, navigating school and friends, when suddenly mysterious letters start arriving. That's exactly what happens to fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen. These aren't just any letters; they ask profound questions like 'Who are you?' and 'Where does the world come from?' Soon, these questions evolve into a full-fledged, anonymous correspondence course on the history of Western philosophy, guided by a mysterious philosopher named Alberto Knox. Sophie's world expands dramatically as she journeys through centuries of thought, from the ancient Greeks pondering the basic stuff of the universe to modern thinkers grappling with existence and freedom. But the philosophical lessons are only part of the puzzle. Interwoven with her studies is a growing, unsettling mystery involving postcards addressed to a girl named Hilde Moller Knag, who somehow seems connected to Sophie's own life. As Sophie delves deeper into philosophy and the strange occurrences surrounding Hilde, she and Alberto begin to suspect that their reality might not be as solid as they thought. They uncover clues suggesting their world is a construct, perhaps even a story being written by Hilde's father, a UN major in Lebanon, as a birthday gift for his daughter. This realization throws Sophie's understanding of everything into question – her own existence, free will, and the very nature of reality. The novel becomes a race against time and narrative control as Sophie and Alberto attempt to break free from the confines of their perceived fictional world. It's a human story about the power of curiosity, the search for truth, and the exhilarating, sometimes terrifying, experience of waking up to the big questions about life, the universe, and our place within it, all wrapped in a compelling mystery.