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Café Philosophy
Café de Sophia follows an intelligent young teenager who meets a group of philosophers in a cafe and learns about life and himself from their conversations. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
The concept of a café where people would gather and discuss all sorts of topics is already present and the name of such cafes is café philosophique, or Café Philosophy. Being a lover of discussion and debate myself, I find the idea of a café dedicated to philosophical conversations very intriguing and that was my inspiration for the setting of the book.
You choose to use Socratic dialogue in this novel; what made you decide on this style of writing, and how do you think it changes the way the story is read?
Personally, when it comes to learning, I find the teaching method of dumbing a whole lecture on someone’s head off-putting and unengaging unless that person is seeking the knowledge in the lecture, and even in that case, it can be tiresome. The advantage that the Socratic Method has is the ability to help the learner reach the desired knowledge instead of just giving it to him. It is more active, engaging, and helps in building interest within the learner.
On top of that, since my story is more focused around the topics discussed instead of the personal life of the protagonist, I thought this approach might be best to explore the different perspectives of the topics.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
An important theme that I tried my best to explore is how does a young mind get introduced to philosophy? This was the reason behind choosing a teenager as a protagonist and writing from his perspective, it was really important to hear his thoughts on the arguments put forward.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
The next book I’m planning to work on is a sequel to Café de Sophia. I have a lot of topics to discuss and I’m planning to make a series out of it. Something like the works of Plato. Considering the nature of the book, it requires me to do a lot of research and investigation into different schools of thoughts and perspectives before writing about one topic. Thus, I cannot say for certain when the next book will be available but I can assure you that it will be of the same essence as Café de Sophia.
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Every encounter with the philosophers explores a different topic that shapes the stepping stones of Nate’s journey. This journey toward the beauty of speech, logic, and wisdom is told in the Socratic dialogue fashion through Nate’s perspective.
Café de Sophia
Café de Sophia starts out from the POV of a sixteen-year-old boy named Nate. He’s walking home from school one day and it starts raining so he decides to seek shelter in a nearby café. While he waits for his mom to pick him up, Nate is drawn to the environment of the cute café and admires the décor. He meets a man named Plato who is a regular at the café. Plato is an educated and sophisticated man. He enjoys conversation and getting to know people through his conversations. Nate learns a lot from Plato, as well as his friends who frequent the café. The café is the spot where they like to hang out and have deep intellectually-invigorating conversations about a variety of topics. In the end, Nate learns more about himself because of the wisdom Plato shares with him.
This is a sharp and cerebral book that uses Socratic dialogue to share observant and analytical deductions on life and all of the things it consists of. If you enjoy a story that is brimming with provocative ideas and astute observations about the world then you will enjoy M.A. Alsadah’s book. This is a story for those that like to ponder as this novel gives you plenty of food for thought.
The book is filled with deep and intellectual conversations between characters that all seem likable. The story uses Nate as a vehicle to deliver some fascinating ideas and I especially found the logical deductions intriguing. Any philosopher, or any readers that consider themselves so, would find the shrewd ruminations especially engaging. I would suggest readers not familiar with Socratic dialogue first familiarize themselves with the format. This will help readers understand the format and be in the right state of mind before diving in.
Café de Sophia is a thought-provoking literary fiction novel that uses an age-old format to tell a compelling story that is full of perceptive reflections on life.
Pages: 201 | ASIN: B0B75M9TGQ
LITERARY TITAN 