The Castle in the Pyrenees

The Castle in the Pyrenees

A new novel of love and ideas from the author of the international hit Sophie's World- the world's bestselling novel in 1995, now with more than 30 million copies in print in 55 languages.

"A marvelously rich book. Its success boils down to something quite simple- Gaarder's gift for communicating ideas." - The Guardian on Sophie's World.

Through five intense years in the 1970s, Steinn and Solrunn had a happy life together. Then they suddenly parted ways, for reason that are unclear to both. In the summer of 2007 they meet again on the balcony of an old wooden hotel by a fjord in western Norway. It is a place they both have fond memories of, and their meeting turns out to be fateful.

But is it purely coincidental that they meet at that particular spot at that particular time? Over a couple of weeks that summer they write emails to each other and it becomes clear that they have been living with very different interpretations of their shared past.

The Castle in the Pyrenees is both a love story and a novel of ideas, exploring the place of human consciousness in the universe and asking the question: can science explain everything or does some invisible force influence our lives?

This novel returns to some of the ideas in Sophie's World- much of the action takes place through correspondence and there is philosophy in the questions it asks about our differing views of reality and the tricks memory can play on us. It is also an intimate love story of two people rediscovering each other.

The Castle in the Pyrenees has been sold in 19 territories already, with more to come.

Praise for Jostein Gaarder:
"A brilliantly conceived and sparking idea, and a fabulous gambol with the literary scene and the relationship between mankind and the world." - Dagsavisen
"Challenging, informative and pacled with easily grapsed, and imitable, ways of thinking about difficult ideas." - The Independent on Sunday
"Seductive and original… Sophie's World is, as it dares to congratulate itself, a strange and wonderful book." - Times Literary Supplement
"A whimsical and ingenious mystery novel that also happens to be a history of philosophy… What is admirable in the novel is the utter unpretentiousness of the philosophical lessons." - Washington Post.
"… one long declaration of love for life and the possibilities and talents of each single individual." - Weekendavisen.

Jostein Gaarder was born in Oslo, Norway, in 1952, and still lives there with his family.

Other fiction by Jostein Gaarder: Sophie's World; The Solitarie Mystery; Through A Glass, Darkly; The Orange Girl; The Christmas Mystery; The Diagnosis; Vita Brevis; Maya; The Ringmaster's Daughter; The Children from Sukhavati; The Frong Castle; Bibbi Bokken's Magic Library; Hello? Is There Anybody Here?; The Yellow Dwarves and Checkmate.

The Castle in the Pyrenees
Hachette Australia
Author: Jostein Gaarder
ISBN: 9780297859444