Fifteen-year-old Ben Warner has a mundane summer job working in the local fish-and-chip shop. Then Lila arrives. She invites him to visit her in the World of Ideas, where she hopes to help Socrates win a bet with his arch-rival Wittgenstein: he and Lila must prove to Ben that philosophy can change his life for the better. So begins a mind-bending guided tour of the big and small questions in life, but will Socrates and Lila be able to convince Ben that the unexamined life is not worth living?
If Minds Had Toes: A Novel
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more. |
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
`An engaging philosophical fiction which will invite comparisons with Sophie's World but also draws on the tradition of British children's fiction such as The Chronicles of Narnia and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' -- Saturday Telegraph
`Entertaining and ingenious ... her book is altogether subtler and more elegant that Gaarder's'
-- Financial Times
`Lucy Eyre (definitely a Socratist) has written a nimble, witty introduction to the basic tenets of philosophy which never takes itself too seriously. A playful guide for young adults, it's a charming endorsement of the benefits of the examined life' -- Guardian
`Entertaining and ingenious ... her book is altogether subtler and more elegant that Gaarder's'
-- Financial Times
`Lucy Eyre (definitely a Socratist) has written a nimble, witty introduction to the basic tenets of philosophy which never takes itself too seriously. A playful guide for young adults, it's a charming endorsement of the benefits of the examined life' -- Guardian
About the Author
Lucy Eyre grew up in London and currently lives in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This is her first book.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By P. M. Fernandez
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
My wife bought this for me on a whim for my birthday, and I am so pleased! As far as I know, "Sophie's World", by Jostein Gaarder, was the first book that explicitly directed philosophical questions at people from smart teenagers upwards. This is the second. A variety of philosophical questions (Is death the worst thing that can happen to you? What is happiness? Do we have free will?) are introduced to a teenager, with characters around him arguing from different perspectives. As tends to be the way, no conclusions are really reached - but by the end of the book, Ben has (and hopefully the reader will have) a more thoughtful perspective on the nature of life, the universe and everything.
The principal characters (Ben and Lila - to what extent, I wonder, is the author writing herself into the part of Lila?) are sympathetic and well-painted. The plot is imaginative and playful. The writing is snappy and clever - "Ben had heard of Plato. And now he'd seen his sports car, he was even more impressed." And if we are really homo sapiens, then we ought to be thinking about the issues that the author discusses.
Please write some more, Ms Eyre!
The principal characters (Ben and Lila - to what extent, I wonder, is the author writing herself into the part of Lila?) are sympathetic and well-painted. The plot is imaginative and playful. The writing is snappy and clever - "Ben had heard of Plato. And now he'd seen his sports car, he was even more impressed." And if we are really homo sapiens, then we ought to be thinking about the issues that the author discusses.
Please write some more, Ms Eyre!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By BookJumper
Format:Paperback
If you liked the idea behind Jostein Gaarder's seminal Sophie's World but find yourself slightly daunted by its thickness and sometimes didactic approach, this is for you.
If Minds Had Toes rests on a silly yet brilliant premise: there is an afterlife specifically devoted to housing dead philosophers; Socrates is the president of this land; he and the mysanthropic Wittgenstein enter a bet to decide once and for all whether philosophical vocation is a gift or a curse.
In order to prove their respective theses, an ordinary live boy is selected, and taken on a series of guided tours of the World of Ideas, where he is confronted by the great questions in a series of amusing yet provocative dialogues.
A good idea well-executed, this is Sophie's World for beginners - shorter, snappier, funny, even cute.
Full marks would have been awarded if there'd been more real dead philosophers: those that are there are there to provide ambience and comic relief; though they do this exceedingly well, it would have been more ambitious and gripping to have the thinkers behind the theories arguing for them. Still; it's but a small quibble: the book's well worth the time and grey cells.
If Minds Had Toes rests on a silly yet brilliant premise: there is an afterlife specifically devoted to housing dead philosophers; Socrates is the president of this land; he and the mysanthropic Wittgenstein enter a bet to decide once and for all whether philosophical vocation is a gift or a curse.
In order to prove their respective theses, an ordinary live boy is selected, and taken on a series of guided tours of the World of Ideas, where he is confronted by the great questions in a series of amusing yet provocative dialogues.
A good idea well-executed, this is Sophie's World for beginners - shorter, snappier, funny, even cute.
Full marks would have been awarded if there'd been more real dead philosophers: those that are there are there to provide ambience and comic relief; though they do this exceedingly well, it would have been more ambitious and gripping to have the thinkers behind the theories arguing for them. Still; it's but a small quibble: the book's well worth the time and grey cells.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By B. Hoffman
Format:Paperback
I have never posted a review before, but I loved this book and felt compelled to write. I read a review in the Times and ordered this from Amazon - I could hardly put it down. It was thought provoking, accessible and truly engaging. Finally, something that isn't depressing, aristo-turns-sleuth, man-bricked-up-in-cellar, medieval-mystery, bring-down-the-catholic-church, chick-lit or aga-saga. An original and stimulating novel. Why don't they write them like this any more? You can probably tell, I loved it - refreshing and as thought provoking as you want it to be, this is an educational and enjoyable read. It deserves to be a great success.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 3 reviews
3.3 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
To help you to choose your A-levels.
The newspaper reviews of this book let the general reader know what it does and that it is done well. Read more
Published on 12 April 2009 by N. J. Phillips
3.0 out of 5 stars
A meaty novel about philosophy, marred by vulgarity
This book inevitably invites comparison with Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World: both were written initially with teenage readers in mind; each novel is a about a young adolescent -... Read more
Published on 21 Jan 2008 by Ralph Blumenau
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
