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Jostein Gaardner wrote this book to introduce high school students and others with no background to western philosphy. Many US high schools are including this book on their summer reading lists, for good reason It is a good, relatively painless, but somewhat shallow introduction to western philosphy.I am glad that western philosphy is being taught at the high school level, because its ideas crop up all over the place, from pollitics and science to art and literature.
However, this book is quite shallow. An educated general reader would be better served by listening to the lecture series “Great Minds of the Western Intellectual Tradition” produced by the Teaching Company. This is a true Phil course, taught by some of the best teaching professors in the United States. I found it more entertaining than this book. However, it contains 84 30 minute lectures–the equivalent of a year long course. Many public libraries have this six volume set of CDs,
As a novel, it's only OK. I thought the characters could be more fully developed, the sub plot poorly developed and that the ending was too confusing and bizarre. Gaardner needed a better editor.
In short, read this book if you want a quick, dirty and charming intro to Western philosphy. If you want a more rigorous introduction, get the Teaching Company lectures.
Wonderfully written anybody with any interest in philosophy will love this book.
This is a great introduction to philosophy via a clever novel by an endearing Norwegian high school philosophy teacher.
I first read this book when I was in the fifth grade, and my brother was reading it in high school. As a fifth grader, I of course, skipped past all of the philosophical bits and just read the plot bits, which I thoroughly adored. It just got better when I read it a few years later in the whole.
It's a fantastic introduction to Western Philosophy. An introduction into something so vast and intense is going to seem a bit shallow. It's either that, or leave out some of the philosophers, which really don't need to be left out.
As for the ending, it's my favorite ending to any novel, leaving you with the sense of confusion and wonderment that delving lightly into philosophy will achieve. It's a bizarre novel, and a fun way to learn bits and pieces of philosophy. Want something deeper? Don't get a novel, and certainly don't expect to be entertained.
As for her language…check different translations. Different editions change the flow of the narrative considerably. Don't like a straight up Norwegian-English text? Try a different one.