Kathy Hamilton 
This is genuinely one of those sorts of books that just stays with you forever. If I could have my way I would give it to everyone to read but, alas, my funds won’t quite stretch that far. There are many books that deal with the heavy subject of how people deal with death but Gaarder’s writing is so beautifully poignant that I really think this is a stand out interpretation of a theme.
It is the story of a girl called Cecilia who is terminally ill with cancer and is hovering between life and death. She is so weakened by it that she can’t do much more than spend her days in bed, listening as life goes on around her. Understandably she feels angry and bitter about this and demands a lot from her family, including a pair of skis for Christmas. During this period an angel called Ariel visits her and sits on her window ledge and invites Cecilia to ask any questions about life, humanity and death that she might have.
It is at this point that the novel really begins to be excellent. Gaarder has such a fantastic grasp of philosophy that the conversations between Ariel and Cecilia are really engaging and thought provoking. I’ve never found myself thinking about the meaning of life as much as when I was reading this book. If done badly this could have the horrible effect of making you feel maudlin and depressed, or put you of with its mushy sentimentality. This book does neither of those things, in fact I found it’s frankness really appealing. Yes some of the ideas explored by Cecilia and Ariel might have benefited from being explored more thoroughly, but then Cecilia is not supposed to be a mature adult and this book is probably aimed at more of a young adult audience. What it does is invite the reader to think for themselves, and nothing prevents you from progressing further with an idea that is written about for yourself.
This novel is, undoubtedly, written with religious philosophy in mind. The title is taken from a quote in The Bible and Cecilia and her family are religious; so this is part of how she understands her existence. I personally really enjoyed this, as Gaarder really explained his points without sounding overtly preachy. That aside, If you’ve read “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green and enjoyed it, I really think you’ll be impressed by “Through a Glass Darkly”. In my opinion, it might even be better.
