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Review
“Gaarder has written a playful and joyful book which revels in the pleasure of thinking.”
Herald 18/3/98
Book Description
Concordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
It is a journey that is difficult emotionally for both Hans and his father. They are driving from Norway to Greece to find Hans’ mother who left eight years ago to ‘find herself’.
This is another delightfully deceptive book by Jostein Gaarder, the Norwegian author of the best-selling Sophie’s World. Hidden within the exterior of a simple mystery story, Gaarder presents his reader with a view of life that causes one to stop, pause and ponder.
Hans finds that the story of his miniature book intertwines with the story of his life. This is cleverly reflected in the chapter alternation between the two stories. All the chapters are named from a playing card.
As Gaarder progresses through the suits, Hans has to figure out what exactly is the reality that is unfolding. The journey, both literally and through the miniature book’s story, makes Hans face some big questions of life.
This book is all about those ‘big questions of life’. Hans must face the transition from child to adult. His father must face whether his marriage can be mended. We, the readers, must face whether we want to be one of a pack of cards or the joker looking in from the outside.
This book is one to be read when one wants to be baffled, delighted and challenged all at the same time. Be baffled in deciding what is real and what is imaginary. Be delighted by the mastery of Gaarder’s story telling. Be challenged to find the joker in you.
The one thing that makes Jostein Gaarder stand out from other authors is the way that he integrates thought-provoking ideas, historical facts and a spellbinding storyline so seamlessly.
Whilst reading the book, and ever since I finished it, I have not stopped thinking about the ideas raised in this book. The magical settings of this story also help to create a truly memorable read.
I reccomend this book to anyone as I believe that the fundamental ideas and easily-accessible storyline would appeal to any human being.
The story is based, in lots of different ways, around a pack of cards. And the continual theme and message is the importance (or expendability) of the joker (/thinker, what is referred to as a philosopher in Sophie's world), the way that the world sees them as expendable but really it is they who appreciate the world the best. Here's a quote (and no prizes for guessing how I'd respond):
"But if the world is a magic trick, then there must be a great magician, too. I hope one day I'll be able to expose him or her, but it isn't easy to reveal a trick when the magician never shows up on stage."
The story is very clever, self-referential, uses nested stories so that you get slightly confused, then has the main character confused at the same thing, ... And in doing so, you get the feeling that Gaarder is himself the joker in several senses of the word.
One of the good things about Gaarder rather than many other philosophers, is that he is genuinely humble about it. He tends to have Socrates' attitude of "The only thing I know is that I know nothing" rather than the arrogance as to the implications of their philosophy held by so many others. His characters have a kind of innocent joy in appreciating the world around them - quite probably why he uses children so much.
I forced myself to persevere with this one. Read more
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