Rating: 
Summary: An excellent, deep, and brilliant novel!
Review: I do not see how the average rating for Sophie's World could be 4 stars. There is no way that Sophie's World is worth just four--I would have given it 6 stars if I could. This is a beautifully deep and refreshing story which captivated me from the beginning. It weaves a mysterious and delicate plot around lessons on the deep points of western philosophy. But beware--this book is not a textbook. It is a fascinating novel with a fascinating plot. After reading Sophie's world you are bound to feel much fuller and more complete. I gained a new way to see life and a better understanding of the universe. A great read.
Rating: 
Summary: At some point something came from nothing...
Review: ...and that something was an idea. And more and more ideas came, and Jostein Gaarder has collected the most important of those ideas in this novel. Described as a potted history of philosophy, it is just that, and has a right to be termed Jostein Gaarder's greatest novel. Multi-layered narrative and mystery is used to emphasise factors of the philosophies of the past; a girl is shadowed by a strange man who asks her questions; the ideas come back and she discusses them. This novel is extremely intelligent and thoughtful, and as far as fame and success goes, is Jostein Gaarder's greatest novel. As far as writing and overall quality goes, the ideas and aims cannot be faulted, but the process has many flaws. This could be the translator's failing, but Gaarder's narrative mysteriously falls apart when he tries to debunk the characters we have grown used to, to reduce them to somebody else's narrative. The turns and twists of the plot become increasingly surreal, and the book suffers, which is a shame, because up until the last 50 or so pages, it is a superb work of philosophy and ideas. Jostein Gaarder's magnum opus does not really work quite as well as his masterpiece to date, "The Solitaire Mystery"; and the idea of the history of ideas as fiction was better and more fluently handled in "The Christmas Mystery". This is an extremely good book let down by an inexplicably weird and dissatisfactory ending.
Rating: 
Summary: A Wonderful Book for Everyone
Review: Sophie's World is a great book that weaves the history of philosophy into a mystery. What makes this book appealing is that if you took out the actual plot and published it as a book on the history of philosophy, it would be an interesting one. If you took out the actual lessons in philosophy, this book could stand on its own as an exciting mystery. Not only is this book well written and well thought out, it challenges the philosopher in everyone.
Rating:
Summary: HEY YOU !
Review: I was assigned to read Sophie's World for school. I approached reading it with an open mind. Though much of the book was lecture I found the majority of the material to be very interesting. I must say though, that what I didn't find to be interesting literally out me to sleep. What storyline was in the book was well worth reading, and provided me with something to be excited about amongst what could be boring lecture. I originally wanted to have this review say only one thing, but i thought better of that, however I would still like to use it as my final statement. "If you don't like Sophie's World, you didn't read it."
Rating:
Summary: Very entertaing for the people that doesn't know philosophy!
Review: For a starting the idea of this novel is great, because it's a mixture of a story with the most resumed history of philosophy, since Greek philosophers up to contemporary philosophers. The story tells how a teenager discovers the world around her taught by a philosopher that suddenly appears in her life and teaches her not to live in the mediocrity of humanity, to delve deeply in questions as who you are, or how the world began. This book is great for teenagers because it helps them to think different and to analyze all these types of questions and not to become into pragmatics.
Rating:
Summary: History Captured
Review: Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder provides the ameteur student of history, philosophy, or the social sciences with a powerful narrative that captures the entire 3,000-year history of philosophy in a mere 500 pages. On the one hand, this book entices the reader with a page-turning plot that melds your reality with Sophie's world; on the other, it provides the most synoptic history of philosophy ever written. This book is sure to provoke healthy debate within the mind of its reader.
Rating:
Summary: Not for everyone but...
Review: If you are a thinker, if you have wondered about life and its mysteries, then this book is for you. This isnt your average mind candy but it is very very good. This will set you thinking and looking at things in a whole different way. Intellectually stimulating begins to describe it but just barely.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended, but you'd have to think a lot
Review: Finally finished the 500+ page book. Well, it's an eye-opening book and a great one for the study of philosophy. It introduced me to many names and ideas which I never came across before. Jostein Gaarder had done a good job - he introduced the different schools of thought without intervening with too much of his opinion. This is an excellent book to give you a brief idea of philosophy, but you will have to do your own research should you want more details of the different philosophies. I like the book for it had enriched my knowledge in many ways and also because I had also been interested in philosophy. I recommend very critical reading of this book. It is simply not a book you can finish in two days and forget about it. It's something you have to take time to think about and digest, otherwise you would have gained very little from this great work. It's a pity I do not quite understand the plot - I sense that there are something hidden behind the story. Perhaps I shall it again before we disappear...
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible novel but GREAT as a beginner's guide to Philosophy
Review: After hearing about the much hyped up Sophie's World, I simply had to check it out at my local bookstore. After reading the back cover it showed so much promise so I paid the good man. The first 8 chapters were interesting but then it began to become a bit of a bore because there was too much written about the history of philosophers in a textbook style manner - certainly too much for a "novel". Quite frankly I would say this book is 20% novel and 80% textbook style history book on philosophy. Mostly what the author has done is compiled the history of philosophers and added a small story to make it interesting. The idea works for a few chapters then wears off although the ending has been ingeniously designed and will keep your mind playing for a while. If you are looking for a novel then this is NOT it. If you're interested in philosophy and are a beginner then you will love this book because it is marvellous. Someone who has a good knowledge of philosophy is unlikely to appreciate this book. Since this book is classified as a "novel" I can only give it 2 stars because only a very small proportion of it is a story. However as a beginner's guide to philosophy I would award 5 stars because it offers a simple, easy-to-understand entry into the wonderful world of Philosophy.
Rating:
Summary: buen libro para comenzar a estudiar filosofia
Review: este libro es muy interesante y entretenido. es muy practico y util para las personas que deseen entender el comienzo y desarrollo de la filosofia a un nivel elemental y ademas es de facil lectura. Sin complicarse la existencia con los pensamientos profundos y sabios de los grandes filosofos que trazaron el rumbo de la existencia y que moldearon nuestras creencias y nuestro desarrollo podemos comenzar a entender las implicaciones de esta ciencia, madre de todas las otras y a veces desdenada por las otras. uno se deja guiar de la mano como sofia de su misterioso maestro a traves de laberintos de saber. este libro es un buen comienzo en la jornada del largo camino hacia el conocimiento de uno mismo. LUIS MENDEZ
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