Hermann Hesse Books I Read
Submitted by Penny on Fri, 01/14/2005 - 06:10
Tags:
- Steppenwolf
- Siddhartha
- The Glass Bead Game
Author Comments:
I have to admit that Steppenwolf has one flaw, for me, if you can call it a flaw: it works much better in small doses. Opening to a page at random, I'm struck by the wisdom of what I'm reading; if I try to read the entire book, it starts to feel too crowded with observation at the expense of the story and the development of otehr characters.
Cloned From:
Whilst The Glass Bead Game sometimes was a struggle, it had other merits, and overall I thought it was OK-to-good. Steppenwolfe I thought was slightly easier to read, and was also OK.
Gertrude, Rosshalde, The Prodigy, Narziss and Goldmund, and Peter Camezind were all outstanding/exceptional, but I also enjoyed Demian (certainly worth a read), and to a lesser degree, Siddhahtha. Strange News ... contained one or two good tales, but Journey To The East was forgettable (if I recall).
I believe it was The Glass Bead Game which earned Hesse the Nobel prize for literature.
Thanks for the comments. I meant to post my "Author's Comments" as a reply to your list (memo to self: must stop posting at 3:00 a.m. as cure for insomnia). I may have to add Demian to my books-to-read list.