MODERN NORWEGIAN WRITERS

Jostein Gaarder (Sofie's World)

I don't know if you people have heard of any writers from Norway. But if you do I`m pretty sure it`s Henrik Ibsen or Knut Hamsun. They are world famous writers, but their books are kind of old fashioned, I think, so in this article I`m going to concentrate on some new writers whom I hope you`ll find interesting...

The most famous of our "modern" writers is probably Jostein Gaarder. I hope you have heard of his book, "Sofies world" ("Sofies verden" in norwegian.). This book has been translated into several languages (34 to be precise). Sofies World is a youth novel involving the history of philosophy. The novel starts with the words: " Who are you? Where do you come from? Where does the world come from?" In the novel we get to know Sofie Amundsen. She's almost 15 years old (and of course she attends a school). One day she finds an envelope in her mail box. -Yes, I know, it not so strange to find an envelope in your mail box, but not all envelopes contains an advanced course of philosophy (at least it`s not usual in Norway!). Sofie also starts receiving mail addressed to Hilde Knag c/o Sofie Amundsen. But who is Hilde Knag? And why does Hilde's father keep sending Hilde's mail to Sofie? Why don't you find that out your selves. This novel may seem pretty boring to you, but read it before you judge it!

Mr. Gaarder has also written several other books. I have personally not read any of them, but I am sure they are just as good as "Sofies World".

By the way, I'm not sure the book is named Sofies World in Trinidad, it might just as well be named Lauras World. But if you search hard enough for the book I'm sure you'll find it.

Written by Paal-Viggo Mortensen

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