Biography

Jostein Gaarder was born in Oslo, Norway in 1952. His parents' occupations presaged his own interests in teaching and writing -- his father was a headmaster and his mother a teacher and author of children's books. Gaarder attended the Oslo Katerdralskole and the University of Oslo, where he studied Scandinavian languages and theology. Following his 1974 marriage, Gaarder began to write, contributing to several textbooks on philosophy and theology. His family moved to Bergen in 1981, where he began to teach high school philosophy, a post he held for several years. His first fiction book, Diagnosen og andre noveller (The Diagnosis and Other Stories) was published in 1986. Two books for children followed, Barna fra Sukhavati (The Children from Sukhavati, 1987) and Froskeslottet (The Frog Castle, 1988) before the publication of Kabalmysteriet (The Solitaire Mystery) in 1990. Kabalmysteriet won both the Norwegian Literary Critics' Award and the Ministry of Cultural and Scientific Affairs Literary Prize Sofies verden (Sophie's World) followed in 1991 and was a gigantic success.

For three years running it was Norway's number one best-seller, and it repeated this success in nearly every country in which it appeared. To date, the book has been published in 44 languages and was the best-selling fiction book in the world in 1995, an astonishing achievement for what is essentially a textbook in the form of a novel. The success of Sophie's World allowed Gaarder to become a full-time writer. He continues to publish a new book every one to two years. Gaarder, his wife Siri, and their two sons live in Oslo.