Rating: 
Summary: An astronomically astounding read: brilliant!!!
Review: From cover to cover, I was enthralled, no enraptured by this excellent novel. I just could not put the book down. Gaarder maintains the balance between fact and fiction brilliantly, and the novel fascinated me throughout. I have always been interested in philosophy, but I struggled to find a book that gave a simple yet informative guide to one of the most interesting topics in the world. Gaarder has produced that book. Well done
Rating:
Summary: Much more then a novel about the history od philosophy!
Review: To say that Sophie's World is a novel about the history of philosophy, is like saying that The Odyssey is a travel story. The story within the story brings the work to life. At one point I had to put the book down and pause in amazment at Jostein Gaarder's skill at teaching and weaving a tale.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully simplified! Philosophy needn't frighten.
Review: Gaardner's book is wonderful, not just because it is a solid story, but (more importantly) because it is an excellent introduction to world of Philosophy. By telling the story of the history of philosophy to a 14 year-old girl, Gaardner makes it accessible to all of us. You don't need to be a philosophy major in order to understand that ideas have consequences; and we all have our own worldview, whether we know what it is or not. As a sometime teacher of philosophy, I applaud Gaardner's ability to take such a daunting subject, and lay it out in such an accessible manner. I recommend it for anyone (even 14 year old Girls.)
Rating: 
Summary: Who am I?
Review: Who am I, what am I, and where am I are questions you are forced to consider as you read and reread this book. The book is a philosophical mystery disguised as a text book, child's book and sci fi book all rolled into one. Reality becomes fiction and fiction reality making you question your very existence. Sophie, Hilde, me and my mother and I...are we one...many...or just a figment of this review.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent combination of fiction and philosophy
Review: J Gaarder teaches philosophy to teenagers, and wrote this book to teach philosophy to teenagers or adults who prefer fiction works over to scholarly works, or who do not feel up to reading philosophy texts.
Written in the style of "Alice in the wonderland", the book's story is charming and marvellous. The author cleverly succeeds in teaching as much philosophy as possible by using the the course given by one of the book's character.
Due to the oversimplification, the philosophical ideas are sometimes inaccurate, but I do not think you could do better within the constraints of such a novel. The author is a Christian Lutheran, and is sometimes unbalanced (he does not give much room to Nietzsche and to the more recent Postmodernists).
For a more serious introduction to the history of philosophy, I can recommend the "Looking at philosophy" by D. Palmer. The author is a skeptic/Postmodern, yet his book is not too unbalanced, is serious and fun (many humoristic illustrations).
As for an introductory and systematic treatment of all philosophical ideas, I can greatly recommend "Introduction to philosophy", by Norman Geisler (this is an academic book, but the best of its sort). Geisler is a Christian, but I can recommend all his books, as well as those of these two other Christian prof. of Philosophy: James Moreland and William Craig. Their books are musts for those who want to go further with philosophy, especially if they are looking for a consistent worldview
Rating:
Summary: A Breath-Taking Journey Through Philosophy!
Review: Sophie's World is an imperative text for any philosophystudent. The fast-paced action, which combines everything from basicGreek Philosophy to Descartian skepticism, to Hume, with the lives of two teenaged girls, makes this novel a thoroughly enjoyable read. Gaarder's clever wit and irony serve as the basis upon which this ingenious story is constructed. His insights on religion and human nature are intertwined masterfully with an intelligent yet entertaining story line. A definite 10**********. --Kimi Marie Shibata
Rating: 
Summary: Stunningly boring
Review: Maybe the most overrated book of the year. Gaarder is playing with one single idea, not knowing how to fill in hundreds of pages. What to do? Put in a philosophy primer, of course! A poor story makes a perfect gift for your enemies...
Rating: 
Summary: How disappointing !
Review: I don't understand the commotion about this book. It is a nice book for someone with no background in philosophy, especially a high school student, but if you have a grasp of the basics this back will provide little extra. As a novel, it is an utter dissapointment, intellectually unchallenging and well yes silly. If you already know a little about philosophy, look elsewhere
Rating:
Summary: This is an amazingly creative exploration of philosophy!
Review: Explore the imagination of a young girl, who at 15 is part of alarger universe that she isn't yet aware of . . . . This bookentertains yet offers that rare gift of simultaneously stimulating the mind. An intriguing blend of history and philosophy, it displays an insightful overview of the history of philosophy that parallels the plot of Sophie's World. The ending, while satisfying, makes you want to become part of the book and continue living the story.
Rating:
Summary: A book for young teenagers
Review: Sure, this is a good introduction to the philosophical history, and baking it into a novel makes it more available. But still, the prose in this novel is not good, it's banal and cheap, it rides on a great idea which is not given a chance to blossom, you could do much more out of this, the pathetic plot destroys the experience, and furthermore it's written in a language suited fo children or young teenagers, but on the other hand, maybe that's who it's written for and that's the reason I don't apreciate it...oh well, but still, it's not a waste of time, it's worth reading..
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