Trying to cram over a thousand years’ worth of philosophy into a 250-page book is no mean feat, especially when 90% of those pages are taken up by pictures. Yet, in adapting Jostein Gaarder’s seminal Sophie’s World into a graphic novel aimed at young adults, that’s exactly the Sisyphus-sized challenge author Vincent Zabus and illustrator Nicoby have set themselves.
To make it work, the book focusses almost exclusively on European philosophy – if anyone in Africa or Asia ever questioned the meaning of life you certainly wouldn’t know it from these pages. The novel’s young female protagonist, however, works as a refreshing counterweight to the abundance of dead white men she encounters. Her passion for climate change reform and anger at the misogynistic views of the ancient philosophers she meets – here’s looking at you, Aristotle – add a welcome dash of irreverence to proceedings.
While teenagers who grew up on a diet of Horrible Histories may find the book’s attempts at humour a tad tame, its endlessly inventive artwork and increasingly meta approach are an unexpected treat. In encouraging readers to find their own philosophical voice, this slyly subversive history book reveals it’s actually far more interested in the future than the past and is far more entertaining for it.
Sophie’s World, Vincent Zabus & Nicoby / Jostein Gaarder (SelfMadeHero)
Price: £18.99. Info: here
words RACHEL REES