The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder Hans Thomas and his father set out on a car trip through Europe, from Norway to Greece—the origin of philosophy—in the look of Hans Thomas's mother, who left them many years earlier. On the way, Hans Thomas gets a secretive miniature book—the incredible journal of a sailor wrecked in 1842 on an unusual island where a deck of cards comes to life. Structured as a deck of cards—each chapter is one within the deck—"The Solitaire Mystery" weaves together daydream and reality, pixie stories, and family history. Full of questions approximately the meaning of life, it'll goad its audience members to reexamine their possess.