Isn't it great having friends? No sooner do I finish reading books lent to me by Nick, I get books from Fiona's brother Dan to read. Out of the pile he left for us, this one caught my eye particularly and in the main it has been most intriguing. Unfortunately, the book is not without its flaws. The author, who is a philosophy professor in his own right, has tried to use this novel as a primer for a history of philosophy, but it looks like this book was originally just that and when he took it to a publisher they said, "yeah it's OK, but where's the human interest? Take it back and chuck in a half baked storyline about some young girl". This he has done admirably.

Sophie acts mainly as a device to stop Alberto (the mysterious philosopher who teaches Sophie) from just spouting four page monologues and as a tool to explain a point:

"In other words, history is principally a matter of who is to own the means of production."
"Don't people's thoughts and ideas help to change history?"
"Yes and no. Marx understood that conditions in society's superstructure..."

OK. So I'm being a bit critical, but the book does present a very good history of philosophical thought through the ages, explaining how the men at the point of history perceived the world about them and I appreciated this facet of the book far more than the weak storyline. If you have any interest in philosophy, you should get this book, but be prepared to skip pages of waffle to get to the good bits, just like a porn novel.

Ben gives it:

Price: I only have an American edition of the paperback, but that costs $6.99
Published by: Berkley (ISBN 0-425-15225-1)

last updated: 23rd October 1996