Sophie's World

One of my greatest fears is running out of reading material on a trip, which I may be in danger of doing. Today I finished Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder. Since I had read it before, the ending wasn't much of a surprise.

The book basically gives a series of philosophy lessons framed by a novel about two teenage girls. The worldviews of the philosophies, from Plato onward, are played out in the plot of the novel. Thus, as the philosophy course approaches contemporary times, the novel becomes increasingly strange, even surreal. The counterpoint between philosophy lessons and the novel itself would take a lot of time to appreciate fully.

Though the book is well-written, Gaarder's worldview presents difficulties for a Christian reader. He's definitely feminist, and emphasizes environmental concerns, especially at the end. Though he is careful not to subscribe to any one philosophy, the novel definitely takes postmodern twists toward the end. Perhaps Gaarder's very carefulness about not supporting any particular philosophy is a symbol of the postmodern age.