Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

Sophie's World

A Novel about the History of Philosophy

by Jostein Gaarder

Discovering two thought-provoking philosophical questions in her mailbox, Sophie enrolls in a correspondence course with a mysterious philosopher and begins to receive some equally unusual letters.

A Doll's House is a play written in 1879 by Norweigian playwright Henrik Ibsen. This play, being Ibsen's most famous, is a required reading in many high schools and colleges around the world. Although the play was considered controversial when it was originally published, it's critical view of victorian marriage is now seen as being educational. This work is known for its unconventional ending, which ends in a... (more)

The Zahir

by Paulo Coelho

The narrator of The Zahir is a bestselling novelist who lives in Paris and enjoys all the privileges money and celebrity bring. His wife of ten years, Esther, is a war correspondent who has disappeared along with a friend, Mikhail, who may or may not be her lover. Was Esther kidnapped, murdered, or did she simply escape a marriage that left her unfulfilled? The narrator doesn't have any answers, but he has... (more)

Naïve. Super

by Erlend Loe, Tor Ketil Solberg

When this novel appeared in 1999, it became a publishing sensation in the author's native Norway, sitting at the top of the best-seller list for over a year. The twenty-five-year-old unnamed narrator of Naive, Super quits college in search of a raison d'etre. He begins to write lists. He becomes obsessed by time and whether it actually matters. He befriends a small boy who lives next door. He yearns to get to the... (more)

The Naked Madonna (Harvill Panther S.)

by Jan Wiese

'The Naked Madonna' is an intricate mystery set against the vivid background of Renaissance Italy. It is a bewitching tale of love and lust, faith and superstition

Fakta om FinlandErlend Loe

Fakta om Finland

by Erlend Loe

Text: Norwegian

Constance Ring (European Classics)

by Amale Skram

Initially rejected by the author's scandalized publisher, Constance Ring is now considered a classic of Scandinavian-and world-literature, a passionate condemnation of marriage and moral hypocrisy that has drawn comparisons to Madame Bovary and The Awakening . The story of a naive young woman who sets out to divorce her loving but adulterous husband, Constance Ring is an intimate portrayal of a vibrant... (more)

Den unge Amalie Skram: Et portrett fra det nittende århundreLiv Køltzow