View original postSophie is really childish, and, frankly, kind of dumb, and she's what, thirteen? She's an extremely unlikable protagonist, especially when compared to the slew of smart, sharp heroines of the same age in other young adult novels. In turn, Alberto often condescends to her, drastically simplifying their dialogue so that she, and, presumably, the average young-adult reader, can understand. The philosophy itself read more like a high-school intro class than an in-depth and thought-provoking study, and fails to give more than general overviews of particular movements or thinkers. Overall, I found it disappointing.
But all the same, I agree - Gaarder tends to be hit or miss, and that one, despite being his most famous book by a long shot, is closer to "miss" if you ask me. Helpful as introductory philosophy reading for teenagers, sure, but the later parts of the plot make increasingly less sense, and as you say there isn't much in the way of characterization.
Some of Gaarder's other novels, such as The Solitaire Mystery, are much better - but the lot of them are YA novels, so I don't think they are really what kHz is looking for in any case.
Recommend me a good book with a philosophical theme?
- 11/08/2013 10:20:25 PM
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Have you read Sophie's World?
- 11/08/2013 11:45:42 PM
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Sophie's World really didn't do it for me.
- 13/08/2013 02:35:18 PM
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Well, it IS a YA novel...
- 13/08/2013 05:10:03 PM
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Sartre is excellent in some ways but he is like Edward Gibbon in one way...
- 12/08/2013 02:04:56 AM
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