character, and the clever narrative structure Gaarder designed to pique it.” 

—Columbus Dispatch 
 
“An extraordinary writer.” —Madeleine L’Engle 

Sophie’s World 

A Novel About the History of Philosophy 

JOSTEIN GAARDER 

 
 

Translated by Paulette Miller 

 
 
BERKLEY BOOKS, NEW YORK 
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book 

is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and 
neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped 
book.” 

SOPHIE’S WORLD 
A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 

Inc. 

PRINTING HISTORY 
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Inc., edition published 1994 Berkley edition / March 

1996 All rights reserved. 

Originally published in Norwegian under the title Sofies verden, copyright © 

1991 by H. Aschehoug & Co. (W. Nygaard), Oslo. 

Translation copyright © 1994 by Paulette Moller. 
This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by mimeograph or any 

other means, without permission.  For information address: Farrar, Straus, and 
Giroux, Inc., 19 Union Square West, New York, New York 10003. 

The Putnam Berkley World Wide Web site address is http://www.berkley.com 
ISBN: 0-425-15225-1 
BERKLEY® 
Berkley Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group, 200 Madison 

Avenue, New York, New York 10016. 

BERKLEY and the “B” design are trademarks belonging to Berkley Publishing 

Corporation. 

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 10 
Acknowledgments 
This book would not have been possible without the support and encouragement 

of Siri Dan-nevig. Thanks are also due to Maiken Ims for reading the manuscript and 
making useful comments, and to Trond Berg Eriksen for his trenchant observations 
and knowledgeable support through the years. 

J.G. 

He who cannot draw on three thousand years 

Is living from hand to mouth 

GOETHE