Jostein Gaarder Biography
Jostein Gaarder is a Norwegian intellectual and author of several novels, short stories and children’s books. Gaarder often writes from the perspective of children, exploring their sense of wonder about the world.
Jostein Gaarder is the author of SOPHIE’S WORLD, a huge bestseller in over 40 countries. He was born in Oslo in 1952 and lives there now with his wife and two sons.
Born in Oslo on August 8, 1952, Jostein Gaarder came from an educational family, effects of which caused Gaarder to develop a deep rooted interest in reading, writing and teaching. His father was a headmaster while his mother was a teacher in addition to being a children’s books author. Gaarder attended the Oslo Katerdralskole and also studied Scandinavian languages and theology at the University of Oslo.
Gaarder began his literary career after his marriage in 1974. His first published works were contributions to a number of textbooks on theology and philosophy. In 1981, he moved to Bergen where he taught philosophy in a high school for several years. Gaarder published his first fiction, Diagnosen og andre noveller (The Diagnosis and Other Stories) in 1986 followed by two books for children entitled, Barna fra Sukhavati (The Children from Sukhavati, 1987) and Froskeslottet (The Frog Castle, 1988). Jostein Gaarder won the Norwegian Literary Critics’ Award and the Ministry of Cultural and Scientific Affairs Literary Prize for his 1990 book, Kabalmysteriet (The Solitaire Mystery).
Sophie’s World, Gaarder’s most famous of works was published in 1991. The book was a huge success, immediately becoming a chartbuster. It remained Norway’s bestselling book for three years and became equally popular worldwide. Translated into fifty-three languages, the book claimed the title of being the world’s best-selling book in 1995.
In addition to writing, Jostein Gaarder has actively been involved in support of human rights and sustainable development. It is for this very purpose that in 1997, Jostein and his wife established an award, Sophie Prize named after his book Sophie’s World. It is an annual prize awarded for international environment and development. Gaarder has also on several occasions raised voice in opposition to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the treatment of Palestinians.
Gaarder has received several acknowledgements and awards for his effortful contributions to literature. Some of these honors include Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature (1990), Norwegian Booksellers’ Prize (1993), Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (1994), Premio Bancarella (1995), Buxtehude Bull (1997), Willy-Brandt Award (2004), Commander, The Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav (2005) and an honorary degree from the Trinity College, Dublin.
Jostein GaarderSome more of Gaarder’s published works include Julemysteriet (The Christmas Mystery, 1992), Bibbi Bokkens magiske bibliotek (Bibbi Bokken’s magic library, 1993), Hallo? Er det noen her? (Hello? Is Anybody There? 1996), Vita Brevis: A Letter to St Augustine (1998), Maya (1999), Sirkusdirektørens datter (The Ringmaster’s Daughter, 2001), Appelsinpiken (The Orange Girl, 2004), Sjakk Matt (Checkmate, 2006), De gule dvergene (The Yellow Dwarves, 2006) and Slottet i Pyreneene (The Castle in the Pyrenees, 2008).
Jostein Gaarder Julemysteriet
Jostein Gaarder Julemysteriet
Julemysteriet is a children’s book by Jostein Gaarder published in 1992. The book is about a magical Christmas calendar Joakim finds in a secluded bookstore. Every day when he opens a hatch in the calendar, a small note comes out with a story about Elisabeth and her journey to Bethlehem through Europe and Asia Minor. The journey is through history.
Jostein Gaarder Froskeslottet
Froskeslottet is a book by Jostein Gaarder published in 1988. The book tells about Kristoffer and his adventurous experiences in the country on the other side of the air. Here he meets a prince who has been transformed into a frog, a little princess, a spotted marshal, a brave queen and a king who has been robbed of his heart. Two worlds meet, and there is a distinctive atmosphere – with red deckchairs, bouncy giants, spotted marshals, cousins from Telemark, niches and salamanders. Here is both humor and wonder, and not least an exciting game of words and turns. And grief and miss are treated in a wise and warm way.
Author: Jostein Gaarder
Language: Norwegian (bokmål)
Released: 2007-01
ISBN: 9788203246357
Publisher: Aschehoug
Edition: 1 (2004)
Series: Good book
Number of pages: 105
Weight: 270 grams
Jostein Gaarder Maya
Thrown together for three days on the paradise island of Taveuni, a lonely Norwegian biologist, a bereaved English novelist, and a strange and beautiful Spanish couple so much in love they seem to have evolved a private language, fill the long Pacific nights by playing bridge, telling stories, and discussing ideas. This brief encounter is no mere interlude, but the start of an intertwined story, full of illusion and allusion, that will unfold many months later. Part tragedy, part mystery, and, above all, a love story, Maya debates and unravels the questions that give meaning to the lives of its characters-and to our own. Jostein Gaarder is the author of Sophie’s World, a huge bestseller in over 40 countries.
Originally published: 1999
Author: Jostein Gaarder
Genres: Fiction, Psychological Fiction
Maya Quotes
- It takes billions of years to create a human being. And it takes only a few seconds to die.
- There exists a world. In terms of probability. It would have been more than expected, by chance, there was nothing at all. Then, at least, there was nothing.
- In the eyeball there is a clash between creation and reflection. The two-way globes of sight are magical revolving doors. The eye that surveys the universe is the universe.
- The creation of a man lasts several billion years, his death – just a few seconds.
- Stars shimmered above us like Morse’s signals sent from the lost past.
Kabalmysteriet Jostein Gaarder
Kabalmysteriet (The Solitaire Mystery) is a fantasy novel by Jostein Gaarder published in 1990. Its main target audience is young adults, but the themes of the book transcend any age group. Kabalmysteriet became his breakthrough book, and received both the Norwegian Literature Criticism’s Children’s Book Prize and the Ministry of Children’s Children’s Book Prize .
Appelsinpiken Jostein Gaarder
The orange girl (Appelsinpiken) is a novel for youth by Jostein Gaarder published in 2003. The novel was adapted into a film in 2009 and is translated into 43 languages. The original Norwegian title, appelsin, refers specifically to the fruit and not the colour.
Jostein Gaarder Quotes
- When you realize there is something you don’t understand, then you’re generally on the right path to understanding all kinds of things.
- As long as we are children, we have the ability to experience things around us–but then we grow used to the world. To grow up is to get drunk on sensory experience.
- How terribly sad it was that people are made in such a way that they get used to something as extraordinary as living.
- A state that does not educate and train women is like a man who only trains his right arm.
- A philosopher knows that in reality he knows very little. That is why he constantly strives to achieve true insight. Socrates was one of these rare people. He knew that he knew nothing about life and about the world. And now comes the important part: it troubled him that he knew so little.
- A joker is a little fool who is different from everyone else. He’s not a club, diamond, heart, or spade.
- He’s not an eight or a nine, a king or a jack. He is an outsider. He is placed in the same pack as the other cards, but he doesn’t belong there. Therefore, he can be removed without anybody missing him.
- Superstitious.” What a strange word. If you believed in Christianity or Islam, it was called “faith”. But if you believed in astrology or Friday the thirteenth it was superstition! Who had the right to call other people’s belief superstition?
- Wasn’t it extraordinary to be in the world right now, wandering around in a wonderful adventure!
- The stupidest thing she knew was for people to act like they knew all about the things they knew absolutely nothing about.
Jostein Gaarder Bøker
- The Orange Girl
- The World According To Anna
- Through A Glass, Darkly
- Le Monde De Sophie (French Edition)
- Belle Aux Oranges(La) (English And French Edition)
- Sophie’s World
- The Christmas Mystery
- Das Kartengeheimnis
- Das Orangenmadchen (German Edition)
- Maya
- KāDo Misuterī: Ushinawareta Mahō No Shima
- The Ringmaster’s Daughter
- The Frog Castle
- That Same Flower
- Hello? Is Anybody There?
- Dia Do Curinga
- La Joven De Las Naranjas
- La Fille Du Directeur De Cirque
- The Castle In The Pyrenees
- Il Mondo Di Sofia
- Vita Brevis: Floria Aemilia’s Letter To Aurel Augustine
- Sofies Welt: Roman Über Die Geschichte Der Philosophie (German Edition)
- Sophie’s World
- An Unreliable Man
- The Solitaire Mystery
- Sofies Verden Roman Om Filosofiens Historie
- La Ragazza Delle Arance
- Mundo De Sofia, O
- Das Weihnachtsgeheimnis
- La Biblioteca Magica De Bibbi Bojjen
- Sofies Welt
- Hallo, Ist Da Jemand?
- Mysterious Journey Of -24 Days Advent Calendar
- By Jostein Gaarder – The Solitaire Mystery
- The Castle In The Pyrenees
- Sofie’s World / Sofies Verden [In Japanese Language]
- Maya Oder Das Wunder Des Lebens
- Die Frau Mit Dem Roten Tuch
- Heritage D’anna (L’)
- Der Seltene Vogel
- Durch Einen Spiegel, In Einem Dunklen Wort
- A Rapariga Das Laranjas
- Atraves Do Espelho
Jostein Gaarder Video
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