I liked this book. Recommendations for books with similar themes?
>>8093825
try hesse's other books.
narcissus and goldmund, beneath the wheel, rosshalde, Gertrude etc etc. Maybe Steppenwolf or his fairy tales. Avoid the glass bead game until you've read most of his earlier stuff imo.
Thomas mann was notorious for writing stories with a western theme tied in with eastern philosophy so you could check him out. He and Hesse were friends iirc.
That's all I can remember. I haven't read hesse in over ten years. But I did read just about everything available in English. I recall Demian was my favorite.
But his books always put me in this weirdly romanticized mood. Really cool but EHHHHH it's kind of exhausting to read that kind of thing all the time. Good luck, anon.
>>8093825
what did you like about it?
>>8093825
Probably The Brothers Karamazov.
>>8093919
You mean the homoerotic vibe weirds you out.
>>8093919
I read Siddhartha first, and while I liked it I didn't think it was a great book. Can't quite understand why that's Hesse's most famous book.
I decided to give Hesse another chance when I read Steppenwolf. That's when I really fell in love with Hesse. Steppenwolf, like Demian, really resonated with me, though I don't think I completely understood Steppenwolf and will probably reread it after I become a bit more acquainted with Jung.
I ready identify with Hesse's inwardness, his characters Self-introversion, and that is something I'd like to cultivate in myself more.
>>8094019
This. Siddhartha is like one of Hesse's least good books, don't understand why it's so popular.
>>8093986
I also liked how it dealt with coming to terms with the loss of childhood innocence and accepting the next phase of life, comparing it to death and rebirth. I'm in a point of my life where I'm about to cross a threshold into a new phase of my life and am feeling very afraid and anxious about this, though I found this book at just the right time. I'm learning to accept this as death and renewal of the Self.
>>8093919
>Really cool but EHHHHH it's kind of exhausting to read that kind of thing all the time
That's how I feel reading Hesse.
What types of books do you read to take a break from the monotony of philosophical fiction?
>>8094028
Because its an easy read and a good introduction to Eastern philosophy for Westerners.
Better than starting out with Gurdjieff, that's for sure.
>>8094095
>eastern philosophy
Barely. By the end Siddhartha's full on pantheist.
>>8094103
It's from a Hindu perspective, son.
& the main character is named after The Buddha.
>>8094108
Yeah, no shit but his beliefs are pantheistic and to some extent taoist.
>>8093825
I liked too, but I found too gnostic.
It's a "formation book", so I think the best one is Goethe's "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship"
>>8094113
>Yeah, no shit but his beliefs are pantheistic and to some extent taoist.
Yeah, no shit. That's why its a good introduction to Eastern Philopshy for Westerners
I recently finished Peter Camenzind. Pleasant enough story, heartful in certain places, but also felt so beautifully pointless. Anyone read this book?
I was reading Hamsun's Mysteries at the same time, too, which went together really well, as Hamsun is a fantastic stylist and seemed to have a lot more oomph than Hesse.
>>8094077
I agree with you, well said m8.
>>8094090
On the side of reading my philosophy books, I have read Mark Kurlansky's History of Salt, History of Cod, currently reading History of Paper. I have also read the History of the Potato by a seperate author, but did not like his writing so much
I like Hesse a lot, but his obsession with dualism has always rubbed me the wrong way. It's such a simplistic lens, even as it appeals to the mythological narrative in all of us.
>>8094473
>History of the Potato by a seperate author, but did not like his writing so much
Was it a woman?
>>8095270
>his
>>8093998
Quite the opposite actually
>>8093919
Narcissus and Goldmund is a solid recommendation, but I get what you're saying like how it's a juicy book, I mean they mostly share tender 'kisses' butYOU JUST KNOW
Can recommend his early novel, Peter Camenzind, if you like a less lewd wanderlust feel
>>8094529
I find dualism very aestheticly pleasing
>>8094141
A better Hessian parallel to Wilhelm Meister would be The Glass Bead Game because it's a tour de force like Mann's Doctor Faustus
And with regards to the German Bildungsroman I think Mann's take on it with The Magic Mountain is the better one
Fight Club
