I read most of Hesse in my twenties and I was a little trepidacious approaching him again. I thought perhaps he was one of those authors you read and appreciate only when young. But this is a beautiful book.

"حين يصل إنسان إلى مرحلة من حياته يقبل عندها المحتومَ برباطة جأش،بعد أن يكون قد اختبر الخير والشر حتى الثمالة،ويكون قد حفر لنفسه بخطٍّ موازٍ لحياته الخارجية،وجوداً داخلياً،أشد واقعية وليس وليد المصادفة،لا تبدو لي حياتي على هذا الأساس،فإن حياتي لم تكن خاوية وعقيمة. وإذا كان قدري الخارجي ظل لغزاً كما هو الحال مع كل إنسان،وهذا أمر حتمي قضت به الآلهة،فإن حياتي الداخلية كانت هي عملي،بكل مُتَعِهِ ومراراتهِ،وأنا وحدي أُعتبر المسؤول عنها." ( إقتباس.ص 5 )

هيرمان هسه..كان ولا يزال من كُتَّابي المفضلين.

A short novel written by the master of what could be called the psycho-spiritual Bildungsroman. Hesse once again delivers an artistic sensitive male loner who questions the dominant values of society and culture and goes on to seek refuge in a non-materialistic approach to life that is tied to the natural world, creativity and eastern philosophical approaches. The result in this case is a masterful account of the creative process and the universal human dimensions of love. In one sense we witness the 'profesionalisation' of a young man into a celebrated musical artist.

The main character is a musician and composer who sets out on a life that is successful in many ways but his inner world is fraught with deeper considerations, high emotions and passions and the feeling of being separated from most other people. He finds love but it is complicated by other issues.

Running through the story like a red thread is powerful reflections on the nature of art and creativity, particularly in regard to bourgeois European society in the early 20th century but that also apply equally well to today.

This is a delicate, superbly written and understatedly dramatic story. I recommend it.

Raskas oli lukea. Kaunista kieltä aika ajoin, kuten Hesselle kuuluu. Päähenkilöinä muusikkoja, keiden syvempään mielenmaisemaan on hankala päästä. Päähenkilö sanoi, ettei ihmiset, joiden päässä soi musiikki, eikä sydämessä, voi ymmärtää häntä. Joten minä en sitten ymmärtäny,

People like best what's hard for them to obtain.

If I could take all the stars in this universe and shower it on Hesse's books, it still won't be enough to rate them! This is one of the best love stories I've read read. It's about a man who falls in love with a woman and then introduces her to his best friend, and eventually she ends up falling in love with his best-friend. It's harrowing, dark and yet wonderful. Hesse has beautifully captured the emotions of the protagonist who is madly and passionately in love with Gertrude. The way the characters are developed is just sheer genius. I was totally in love with each one of them. In the end, the books teaches you a lot about friendship and love. It also shows how tragedy and pain always play a vital role in an artist's life. Glad that I read at a point in my life where I was going through similar plight as that of the protagonist of this novel. And this book has acted as my guide to pave my way out of it. A masterpiece of a novel! Must read.

3,25
Zauważam kilka niedociągnięć w tej pozycji, ale przypomniała mi ona dlaczego tak bardzo lubię literaturę z początków minionego wieku. Prosta historia życia Gottfrieda Kuhna w rzeczywistości wcale nie jest najważniejszym filarem tej powieści, a stanowią go język i struktura.

Parece que el autor estuviera improvisando la trama a medida que escribe el libro, la principal tarda demasiado en presentarse. Realización vaga de los personajes que, si bien Hesse ya nos tiene acostumbrados en otros libros, suele salvarlo con ideas o reflexiones que amenizan esta falta. No he leído aquí ideas tan claras que quisiera transmitir. A pesar de ello, dispone de buena prosa y se deja leer.

One of my least favorite Hesse's books but still very good. It deals with mental issues and how people dealt with it in the past. All those kinds of useless advices are still flowing around.

لقد كان لي خير صاحبًا وخير مُعلّمًا وتعلّمت الكثير يا رب

شكرًا لأنك منحتني الحياة
وشكرًا للحياة لأنها منحتني إياك.

چقدر من فضای غمگین نوشته های هسه را دوست دارم ،چقدر این کتاب دلنشین و پر از مفهوم و کشش بود
یک ستاره کم کردم بخاطر اینکه به پای کتاب گرگ بیابان نمیرسید

Profoundly beautiful, poetic in the lightest form and effortlessly sad through and through.

Initially I was drawn to the narrator's passionate obsession with music and composing, but in the end I just fell in love with the entire novel. It travels through friendship and love and passion, and in the end it leaves you wanting more. I sat down with this book and could not pull myself away from its pages, as is always the case for me and Herman.