When I first started this book, I was excited to include some philosophy in my life while still getting my summer assignments done, but that excitement was slowly interrupted as I continued reading. The pages started to read like a textbook, a long, in depth, history lesson. Of course, there were characters included in the novel, but each of them seemed like flat, 2-dimensional characters. For example, Sophie is a young girl and she is overwhelmed by the questions that her philosophy teacher has asked her to ponder. Many times, the author would merely state "Sophie cried." Whenever I would read "Sophie cried" it would feel out of place. When did this happen? When did she get so upset? What is she thinking? It seemed like the characters in the novel were all flat. The mother, for example, was a parental figure and a voice of reason in Sophie's life. Basically, she worried about her daughter and that was pretty much the extent of her role in the novel (at least thus far). Sophie too is a flat character. She feels exhausted by the tasks given to her by the philosopher, but believes and reflects his ideas back onto her mother. Sophie interacts with only a few characters regularly, her mom, her friend at school, and her teachers. Each character served a purpose and nothing more. I wish that the book included more insight as to how each of the characters felt so that I could have grown more attached to them and finished the novel happily.
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