HERMANN HESSE - Omar Reviews
Hermann Hesse’s novels along with their publication years:
Peter Camenzind (1904)
Beneath the Wheel (1906)
Gertrude (1910)
Rosshalde (1914)
Knulp (1915)
Demian (1919)
Klingsor’s Last Summer (1919)
Siddhartha (1922)
Steppenwolf (1927)
Narcissus and Goldmund (1930)
Journey to the East (1932)
The Glass Bead Game (Magister Ludi) (1943)
I find Hesse’s novels the most readable of his era. Though they are stories of his time, the writing is so clean that you forget that they were written so long ago. In re-reading and enjoying for the first time all the Hermann Hesse novels, I was amazed at how well he can write about flawed characters and somehow make us really care about them. I know no one better at telling a character’s story through the thoughts within the character’s mind. It is truly remarkable how he tells the story primarily through the thoughts that we never share, that we all battle everyday of our existence—our private world as we deal with life. Hesse does not depend much on dialogue; he simply takes us from beginning to end within the lead character’s mind, and masterfully introduces supporting characters that are more often than not, loving, insightful and humorous. I still can’t believe these were written so long ago. Perhaps, because he tends to focus on the timeless aspects of the human struggle…
Peter Camenzind (1904)
All the skill that Hesse shows in later novels is within the pages of this, his first novel. As a writer, I enjoyed feeling him discovering how he wanted to write, and how he wanted to tell a story. Peter Camenzind, per usual for Hesse, is a flawed character struggling with life. By taking us inside the mind of this mountain boy’s struggles with human complexities, which are colored with his love of nature, as well as his nature toward alcohol abuse, we somehow forgive and learn from Peter’s experiences. In particular, his failures with romantic love and discoveries in other types of love, such as friendship, relations with the natural world and a love that can blossom from witnessing others overcoming their struggles.
Beneath the Wheel (1906)
An insightful look at the youth of this era and the lack of choices for those who are gifted. This story, influenced by his own youth, shows how easy, in the folly of youth, to make a mistake that may affect all one’s life. How we sometimes learn life shaping lessons and how sometimes we fall beneath the wheel, and inevitably get crushed.
Gertrude (1910)
Beautiful Story, beautifully written. This book is rather magical in how Hesse threads hope into a collection of troubled characters, with the medicine being the spiritual beauty of music.
Rosshalde (1914)
Beautifully written but not may favorite subject, the falling outs of a rather privileged family. A challenge to carve through all the negative thoughts and emotions, but still an insightful look inside the human drama. A story that I appreciated more with time to reflect.
Knulp (1915)
I was so pleased to discover Hesse’s Knulp. As put by Laudi, a character very reminiscent to Omar T. Both Knulp and Omar had mishaps with a first love (see Omar T in San Francisco) that pushed them into a happy-go-lifestyle that many a woman find attractive and refreshing. Knulp was a pleasure to read, because, like Omar T, Knulp just seems to make those around him happier and more generous. A fun little read. Typical to Hesse, this book is still insightful, still poignant, but filled with a joy of life not often wrote about in that era.
Demian (1919)
Demain is emotionally challenging like Hess’s first novel Peter Camenzind in that you have to follow a character who makes continued bad decisions. Peter Camenzind rewards the journey with an outstanding finish. Demian is more mystical. That being said, there are many nuggets of insight and wisdom within Demain.
☺
Klingsor’s Last Summer (1919)
The first characters are so filled with every disorder and disturbance that it is only for those intrigued in demented thought. For the rest of us, reading about them is just disturbing. Once Klingsor is introduced, just beyond half way in the book, it reads more like a poetic stream of conscious than a story, also challenging.
Siddhartha (1922)
Beyond amazing is that this westerner, after a visit to India, could take the various legends of the Buddha and describe what and how he was led to enlightenment, in such a skillful, believable way that the country of India has adopted Hesse’s version as a part of their own legend. Such that it is in millions of its homes and is still being translated into even the most-rare languages of this ancient society. As usual, this Hesse novel tells the story through the mind of the lead character, Siddhartha, a name we now associate with THE Buddha (the story actually tells of a predecessor monk, known as the Buddha). Siddhartha experiences enlightenment at three different dramatic times in his life. Each following intense activity, followed by intense despair, which leads him to spirit saving enlightenment. A great story of one of the world’s great legends.
Steppenwolf (1927)
A most unusual story. Truly different from any book I have ever read, which makes it demanding. It is a challenge to be inside the head of such a troubled man as the Steppenwolf for the whole book. That being said there are some wonderful additional characters to lighten this load and aid in the deliverance of yet another insightful look by Hesse into the human mind and condition.
Narcissus and Goldmund (1930)
Hesse continues his exploration of young men dipping into the darker times of the middle-ages. Narcissus a man of words and Goldmund a man of images strike a friendship despite their differences between thought and feeling. This 3rd person told story takes us on an epic journey as Goldmund leaves the religious order to experience the world. It is a challenging but rewarding experience to go along with Goldmund for all his adventures and tragedies. The insights from Narcissus’s wisdom and the folie of all of Goldmund’s experiences, shine a mirror on the timeless battle of the good and evil in us all.
Journey to the East (1932)
More a novella in verse form. A somewhat comical fantasy tale of a man who recalls his travels through space and time with a fictional league that avoids all ‘modern’ technology. A poetic allegory of life, the fluidity of fact and memory, friends and foes. A stream of conscious that became common with the Beat Generation a few decades later.
The Glass Bead Game (Magister Ludi) (1943)
I get how this serious intellectual work put Hesse over the top and earned him the Pulitzer, but it was a tough read for me. Hesse’s format for this book is mostly third person, resembling more a non-fiction report than his earlier dense first-person told tales. I felt the work more a letter to his fellow elite intellects than a tale that gave us an unforgettable character. That being said, there are still some gems within this long discourse.
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