Independant+Novel+Study

Megan Letham media type="custom" key="12206346" =Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder = December 2nd, 2011

Why I chose this book:
I chose this book because the description on the back made it seem like a very unique and captivating story. On the back cover it seems rather mysterious, it says the main character is receiving letters addressed to someone else... Also, it’s about a fourteen year old girl, and I’m fourteen so I thought it would be relatable.

Who is telling the story, how does it affect the person’s perspective in which it’s told:
The story is told by an all-knowing narrator. If it was being told by the main character, there would be less fore-shadowing and the story would be possibly a bit less interesting. Since they wouldn’t be able to know what would happen next, the mysterious aspect of the story would be diminished dramatically.

What’s going on as the story begins:
The book starts off with a mysterious vibe. The main character, Sophie and her friend Joanna were having some rather, intellectual and philosophical conversations, as they were walking home from school. Sophie stopped and checked her mail on the way. She had received a mysterious letter, with no return address. She opened it and there was a piece of paper, with only three words printed on it… “Who are you?” December 9th, 2011

What information did you need to know before reading the novel:
To understand the concepts discussed in the novel, you need to know at least a little bit of background of the theory of evolution. Throughout the book so far, Sophie has been receiving letters asking her very vague questions about life, the world, herself, etc. There is alot of philosophy and contemplating of belief in this book.

What is the initial or first problem faced by the main character:
The initial problem faced, is that Sophie has been receiving these mysterious letters from an un-addressed sender, each containing a question or problem to solve, or ponder. Along with this happening, she receives yet ANOTHER envelope, this one containing a birthday card, and has been addressed to someone she has never heard of. This was very strange and lead to her first problem. She had to find out who this person was.

What new things are added to the original problem as the novel progresses?
She got a large book of philosophy in the mail, and finds out that from the mysterious sender, the questions sent had been part of a philosophy course! She was extremely confused and didn't really know what was going on.

December 15th, 2011

What is the setting of this novel? Is the setting important or could the novel be happening anywhere? Why?
The setting of the story, starts out in Norway in 1990. The setting is quite important... Not the date, because there is quite alot of mental time travelling in this novel, but the book, initially being set in Norway, has a bit of cultural difference from US or Canada, with the way the characters interact, and how they are described to look to and dress. The story deals with kind of a mysterious, spy-type vibe, which would be hard to imagine in the western-most world.

What plot twists or unexpected events happen as the novel goes on?
It turns out that the mysterious letters she had received in the mail, were supposed to be because./

Is there a message or main theme emerging in the book? How is it shown?
There isn't really a clear message in the book. The author made the plot quite hard to follow, even though I think i got most of it, but there really isn't a message or moral in the story.

How does the Author get you to read on/ Hold interest:
I actually love the wording by the author.. They use many different types of sentences, like: complex and simple, and longer-shorter-longer rhythms to add more interest and make it less boring, and make me feel like moment isn't over in like two seconds. The Author also has a very well chosen vocabulary to make me kind of think twice about a sentence, using words such as "clambered" or "disseminator". The author adds some slang and/or heightened or lowered vocabulary to certain quotes, but not too much.. giving the reader even more of a clear image of who the character really is, which is quite interesting.

To what age group is the novel aimed?
I think the age group is mostly aimed at a more mature, and probably female audience. The protagonist of the story is a 14 year old girl, so I'm not quite sure if guys would be too interested in it. The level of vocabulary used is also pretty high, so I'd say the targeted audience would be from the ages of 12-19? And a reader should probably know a bit about what Philosophy is, and they should have thought about how the world really was created, so they have a bit more of an understanding of the beliefs and facts, discussed in this story.

Is the novel believable?
In a way, yes, mostly because of the characters... The author does such a good job building the characters, one might start to think they are real. Overall it's a no though. The Theme of the story is Philosophy, which involves Mythology and Religion... Adding gods, and monsters makes it seem like more of a fantasy. Plus the original problem she faces: The unaddressed letters, and admission to this "Philosophy program" she didn't even chose to enter, would be awesome in real life... but quite unlikely.

Fifth Journal Entry, Pages 338 - END.
January 13th, 2012

Comment on the style of the novel. Is it easy or hard to follow the events?
The style of this Novel is kind of like a movie, because of all of the internal questions it asks, and it is told by a narrator. This book really makes you think, but has a very relatable, yet mysterious and unlikely plot. It makes me think of a movie, because when I watch movies, alot of times I think about how they made it, and what special effects they used for certain scenes. This book deals with Philosophy and Sophie is in a situation where she has sort of the opportunity to ponder life's questions. I found that the two main characters who are both girls, got a bit confusing, and it was a bit hard to tell who from who, but overall it was pretty easy to follow.

Why did (or didn't) the novel meet your expectations?
This book exceded my expectations. I originally picked this book because it seemed interesting and different, little did I know that those words would be complete understatements. This book has a captivating plot about a girl who I can relate to, yet this girl is really amazing. This is one of those books where, you really don't want it to end. It was very comforting to go home and read it every night.

Why would you (or why wouldn't you) recommend this novel to a friend?
I would recommend this book to a female friend. It was an amazing book, geared more towards females. I loved reading it. The only problem, is that it was quite long for me, and I got really into it, so when it was over it was pretty sad.

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 * Sophie Amundsen is a 14-year-old girl who lives in Norway in the year 1990. She lives with her cat Sherekan, her goldfish, a tortoise, two budgerigars and her mother. The story is told by an all knowing narrator. The book begins with Sophie receiving two anonymous messages in her mailbox (the first asking, "Who are you?", the second asking, "Where does the world come from?") and a post card addressed to 'Hilde Møller Knag, c/o Sophie Amundsen'. Later, she receives a packet of papers, part of a correspondence course in philosophy. With these, Sophie becomes the student of a fifty-year-old philosopher, Alberto Knox. In the beginning, he is anonymous to Sophie, but later he reveals more and more about himself. The papers and the packet both turn out to be from him, but the post card is is addressed from someone called Albert Knag, who is a major in a United Nations Peacekeeping unit stationed in Lebanon. Alberto teaches her about the the history of Philosophy. Along with the philosophy lessons, Sophie and Alberto try to outwit the mysterious Albert Knag. Sophie learns about medieval philosophy while being lectured by Alberto, dressed as a monk, in an ancient church, and she learns about Sartre and Simone de Beauvior in a French café. Many philosophical questions and methods of reasoning are introduced to Sophie, and she tries to work them out on her own. Mixed in with the philosophy lessons is a plot more likely to be in normal teenage novels, showing Sophie’s relationships with her mother and her friend Joanna. In the end, it turns out that the world Sophie knows, is really just a "literary construction" by Albert Knag as a present for his daughter, Hilde, on her 15th birthday. The novel continues with Hilde's story as a "framing device" for Sophie's story, but the stories intertwine as Hilde's understanding of philosophy grows aswell as Sophie's understanding. As Albert Knag continues to meddle with Sophie's life, Alberto helps her fight back by teaching her everything he knows about philosophy. **=====