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Read about Herman Hesse's life and work on page 2.
Other key works:
Page 1: Herman Hesse - The Books
Editor's pick:
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Siddhartha
Since its publication in 1922 Siddhartha has sold over two million copies in Germany, over five million in the USA, and further millions in Japan and elsewhere. It is truly a novel that is timeless in its content and universal in its message.
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In an important letter dated 26 June 1923, Hesse admits that he has almost exclusively been concerned with the 'spiritual-poetical' in his own life and this sheds invaluable light on the content and style of Siddhartha. It is clear that the outside world forms merely a backdrop from which Hesse narrates the 'journey within'. The overriding focus of the novel is on inner development and spiritual enlightenment. Hesse is concerned with what goes on in the souls of individuals, and their efforts to reconcile opposing forces to reach that transcendental state to which most of us aspire.
Although Siddhartha (the main character) brings joy to everyone who meets him, especially to the Brahmins' daughters, Siddartha himself is not happy. He follows the scriptures religiously, and performs the customary ablutions and sacrifices, but none of this brings him spiritual comfort. He seeks truth, a state of peace that he feels he is lacking. With this longing inside him, he decides to forsake his home and his family and join the wandering Samanas, a group of ascetics dedicated to denying all materialistic comforts - including food! Together with his friend, Govinda, they set out on this life of renunciation in order to attain the sole purpose of living - complete spiritual enlightenment. It is this that causes Siddhartha untold misery and suffering. It is the one elusive goal that seems to evade him, and it is the one thing in life that he truly wants.
As readers, we come to understand the isolation and individual spiritual quest of Hermann Hesse himself through Siddhartha's journey. We also come to understand that although we all take our journies alone, the eventual destination - Nirvana - is the same for all of us. So what is in store for Siddhartha, the wandering Samana, follower of his own soul? While on the path of discovering the meaning of life, he falls prey to a life of pleasure and titillation - eroding away his spiritual gains until he becomes almost like everyone else. Even that which set him apart, the art of fasting, waiting, and thinking, evaporates, having been dragged down by worldly desires. Finally, Siddhartha's epiphany comes to him in a way that challenges both the Buddhist and Hindu ideals of enlightenment.
Siddhartha has in the past, held great appeal for the youthful. It is an easy read, but loaded with imagery that allows you to interpret its meaning for yourself. The text seems to speak beyond words. It will make you sit back, take a deep breath, and force you to re-evaluate the changes happening around you, putting the negative and positive into perspective.
Other must-read works:
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Steppenwolf
With its mix of psychology, philosophy and lucid poetry, this book is extremely thought provoking. It is the most autobiographical of all Hesse's works and tells the profound story of Harry Haller.
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The content of the book is about the double nature that exists in all of us. We all have to deal with a forcible conflict between the comforts of the flesh and the needs of the spirit. Hermann Hesse said that Steppenwolf is one of his works that has been more often misunderstood than any other. Written when he was fifty years old, it is a powerful self-portrayal and deals with the tribulations of that period in his life. Consequently, many youths who have tried to understand its meaning misinterpret it. He claims that even readers of his own age who have recognized themselves in the Steppenwolf, suffering his griefs and dreaming his dreams, have overlooked the fact that this book speaks about other things. Primarily it is not about a man grieving, but about a man whose faith enables him to believe. It is only half a savage indictment of bourgeois society. The other half is an exhaustive analysis of self, aimed at eradicating that part of you which is at odds with fulfilment.
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Narcissus and Goldmund
Narcissus is an ascetic monk, a devout intellectual who remains in the monastery in order to become an abbot. He is the epitome of the analytical, structured mind. Goldmund is Narcissus' opposite.
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He is a romantic, dreamy, flaxen haired boy who loves the lyrical, sensuous, rapturous nature of women. He leaves the monastery in order to find his true nature. Hesse's novel is the story of these two medieval men, one content with his monastic life and religious convictions, the other in search of a more corporeal answer to his salvation. The conflict here is a symbolic one, embodied by these two different men: the one symbolic of spirit, the other of flesh; the one contemplative, the other emotional. However, as different as they are, their behaviour is like the cosmic forces of a magnet drawing them back together again. Narcissus and Goldmund show us how to find physical love by finding the true essence of love, that is, individual spiritual knowledge. This is a simple story, told eloquenly, and like a captivating melody, it draws you in, absorbs you, and touches you.
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The Glass Bead Game
Two hundred years from now, scholars in the kingdom of Castalia (a utopian society where the only goal is the pursuit of knowledge) play an ultra-aesthetic game that provides recreation to the intellectual elite.
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This game involves all branches of knowledge, and spiritual values - especially the values of the East. Since he was small, Joseph Knecht ("servant" in German) has been obsessed with mastering the game. His goal is to eventually master it, requiring a synthesis between aesthetics and sciences such as mathematics, music, logic, and philosophy. In adulthood, he becomes a Magister Ludi (Master of the Game) but also faces the dilemmas posed by the game. The emphasis within the novel is essentially the aesthetic pursuit of knowledge. However, today we can already see how relevant the themes in this book are when we consider science's quest for a single formula that explains 'everything,' trying to bring together unrelated systems. The Glass Bead Game itself is the embodiment of the kingdom of Castalia's ideology. It is a game in which contestants attempt to establish patterns of commonality between seemingly disparate intellectual fields. This novel sets out to explore the positive side of human nature, to celebrate man's capacity as an intellectual with consciousness and an inquirer into the eternal mysteries of existence. This is Hesse's magnum sopus.
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Demian
Demian is a coming of age story, where huge issues boil below the surface: the notion of free will, religion, and homosexuality are all tackled.
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It is a fable of 'spiritual growth', in which a docile boy (Emil Sinclair) from a middle class family, is growing up. As a boy, Sinclair views the world from within the walls of his home. His home represents all that is good, pure, innocent and holy. But, from an early age, he feels a constant inner conflict between this world (the "world of light") and the outside world (the "forbidden realm") which represents sin, loneliness, deceit, and insecurity. He ends up vacillating between both but not belonging to either. Hesse traces the turmoil of these childhood years through to late adolescence. As the victim of bullying, Emil turns to Max Demian, a friend, a guide, and a counsellor. Emil falls under the guiding influence of Demian, who tries to make him accept the world of petty crime and corruption at the expense of his normal family life.
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