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The Solitaire Mystery (Hardcover)

by Jostein Gaarder (Author), Sarah Jane Hails (Author, Translator), Hilde Kramer (Illustrator) "THE GREAT JOURNEY TO the homeland of the philosophers began in Arendal, an old shipping town on the south coast of Norway ..." (more)

4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (80 customer reviews)

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4 new from CDN$ 52.60 16 used from CDN$ 0.32

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Product Details

Hardcover: 309 pages
Publisher: Douglas & McIntyre / Not Applicable (Jun 1 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0374266514
ISBN-13: 978-0374266516
Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.5 x 2.5 cm
Shipping Weight: 613 g

Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (80 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #698,715 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

From Amazon.com

Jostein Gaarder had an unlikely international success with Sophie's World, a novelized exploration of western philosophy through the eyes of a young girl. This is an earlier work, translated from the Norwegian by Sarah Jane Hails. This fable-like story dabbles in philosophy too, though more lightly. It tells of a Norwegian boy traveling across Europe with his calm and reflective father in search of his long lost mother. The boy finds a tiny manuscript that reveals the secret of a magic deck of cards that can tell the future.

From Publishers Weekly

Admirers of Gaarder's first translated work, the bestselling Sophie's World, will be familiar with this Norwegian ex-philosophy teacher's talent for transforming what is essentially a vigorous round of mental aerobics into unpredictable, absorbing fun. This novel, which was published in Norway before Sophie's World, is another offbeat delight, ontology masquerading as an ingeniously constructed fairy tale. It tells the story of the 12-year-old Hans Thomas, who is driving with his father from Norway to Greece in a quest to retrieve his errant mother. The plot thickens when a midget at a gas station on the Swiss border slips Hans Thomas a miniature magnifying glass, and then the next evening, on a stop in Dorf, a kindly old baker presents him with a correspondingly tiny book and swears him to secrecy. As Hans Thomas sneaks looks at the book, between sightseeing and philosophizing with his father on their trip south, it gradually unfurls a strange story of a shipwrecked sailor and his rather unusual game of solitaire?a story that has puzzling links with Hans Thomas's own life. By the time the mystery is resolved, Hans Thomas and his family learn important lessons about themselves and their past, as Gaarder walks the reader through a complex inquiry into the nature of being and destiny. Less light-footed than Sophie's World, this work relies on fantastical symbolism for its central allegory; some readers will find a plot that hinges on such elements as a magic vanishing island and sparkling Rainbow Soda too corny for their tastes. Others, however, will deem it enchanting, especially since all the whimsy is balanced by deft portraits of Hans Thomas and his gruff, good-hearted father.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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THE GREAT JOURNEY TO the homeland of the philosophers began in Arendal, an old shipping town on the south coast of Norway. Read the first page

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	63% buy the item featured on this page: The Solitaire Mystery 4.7 out of 5 stars (80)
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Customer Reviews

80 Reviews

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (80 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Post-modern fairytale, May 21 2004

By	szng - See all my reviews

This review is from: Solitaire Mystery (Paperback)

The Solitaire Mystery follows a young boy, Hans Thomas, and his father on their way to find their runaway mother. Along the way, they encounter various people, each connected by a strange world long ago, leading ultimately to the unraveling of the mysterious pasts of Hans and his family.

The Solitaire Mystery explores the strange world of coincidences and determinism. It dabbles in the philosophy of consciousness, reminding one of Descartes's elegant statement, "Cogito ergo sum," except declared this time by a pack of living playing cards. While definitely surreal, Gaarder touches questions intrinsic in every culture in the world.

The only problem I had with this book was its story-within-story format. This made it somewhat difficult to follow, as it reached the point when Hans was reading a book about someone telling someone else a story told to him by another person.

However, despite the heady material The Solitaire Mystery utilizes, it still reads as light and whimsical. This is a fairytale a la Alice-in-Wonderland, but at the same time, deep and profound.

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5.0 out of 5 stars This book really changed my life., May 16 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Solitaire Mystery (Paperback)

I actually did not buy this book here at amazon.com , but I checked it out of my library. I was looking for a book randomly, and the fish on the cover caught my eye, so i picked it up, and checked it out. Oh my god. This book has changed my life forever. The book made me think so much about the world around me, and to really question life itself. How ignorant we are to walk around in our little lives, completely ignoring the greatness of everything around us, like how the sky stays up there, and how we stay planted on the ground, and how rain falls. After crying a little, and laughing a little, I finished the book with great satisfaction, and whole new persepective on life. If everyone in the world read this book, the world would be a grander place, in which we don't worry about petty differences, but instead wonder. Five stars, and nothing less.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Solitaire Mystery, yes, yes, yes!!!, Mar 12 2004

By	Kelsey (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Solitaire Mystery (Paperback)

The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder is easily one of the greatest books that America has ever overlooked, though it's obscurity shouldn't make its value questionable. This tale is extremely complex, but an overall beautifully interwoven story. Not only do you become immersed in it by page one, but it's extremely psychological,philosophical-- a book that I like to call "symbolic fantasy", just like Michael Ende's books, especially the Neverending Story. You will discover so much profundity in this book while you enjoy it although you probably won't catch half of it until you read it again! A must read! Along with it I'd recommend the Neverending Story, other Jostein Gaarder books, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery, Alice in Wonderland, the Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, anything.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, Brilliant, Beautiful
I absolutely love this book and have read it numerous times!
I read Sophie's World by the same author and really liked it so I decided to try this one and bought it at my local... Read more

Published on Jan 10 2004 by Anne Hobby

5.0 out of 5 stars A journey into questioning the world.
Gaarder's story leads to a fantastic journey, in which the questioning of our own conditions of existence is the key to gain a broader perspective of it. Read more

Published on Sep 29 2003 by Gustavo Guberman

5.0 out of 5 stars The Modern Family Fable.
Bottom Line: read it. To yourself, to your kids, to your friends, to your dog, to anyone who will listen. Read more

Published on Sep 2 2003 by Coleman J. Crenshaw

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, best book ever.
It was simply the greatest. Anyone should read it and would love it. Totally sweet fairy tale, but also has philosophical conversations, metaphors and allusions to Plato.

Published on Aug 1 2003