Hermann Hesse Boeken

The classic novel of a quest for knowledge that has delighted, inspired, and influenced generations of readers, writers, and thinkers—a perennial favorite for graduation gifts. Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read Though set in a place and time far removed from the Germany of 1922, the year of the book’s debut, the novel is infused with the sensibilities of Hermann Hesse’s time, synthesizing disparate philosophies–Eastern religions, Jungian archetypes, Western individualism–into a unique vision of life as expressed through one man’s search for meaning. It is the story of the quest of Siddhartha, a wealthy Indian Brahmin who casts off a life of privilege and comfort to seek spiritual fulfillment and wisdom. On his journey, Siddhartha encounters wandering ascetics, Buddhist monks, and successful merchants, as well as a courtesan named Kamala and a simple ferryman who has attained enlightenment. Traveling among these people and experiencing life’s vital passages–love, work, friendship, and fatherhood–Siddhartha discovers that true knowledge is guided from within.

A collection of 23 short stories written during 1899-1948, 20 here translated for the first time: The Island Dream (1899)Incipit vita nova (1899)To Frau Gertrud (1899)November Night (1901)The Marble Workd (1904)The Latin Scholar (1906)The Wolf (1907)Walter Kompff (1908)The Field Devil (1908)Chagrin d'Amour (1908)A Man by the Name of Ziegler (1908)The Homecoming (1909)The City (1910)Robert Aghion (1913)The Cyclone (1913)From the Childhood of St. Francis of Assisi (1919)Inside and Outside (1920)Tragic (1923)Dream Journeys (1927)Harry, the Steppenwolf (1928)An Evening with Dr. Faust (1929)Edmund (1934)The Interrupted Class (1948)

A never-before-seen volume of poetry by the preeminent poet laureate Herman Hesse--a beautiful companion to Seasons of the Soul and the author's better-known prose work. Organized into four parts--spring, summer, autumn, and winter--The Seasons of Life relates the transitions in nature to the organic progressions of human life from birth through death. From the mundane to the sublime, the spiritual to the political, and private feeling to expressed opinion, Hesse touches on the range of human experience, inviting the reader to consider both the beauty and what Hesse called the "adversities of life." Beloved by readers as a wise and open friend, Hesse offers in this never-before-translated volume an honest portrayal of a whole life: its lessons and mysteries, its glories and despairs. The poet's voice--so treasured in his novels among a worldwide English-speaking audience--can now be enjoyed through this new translation in the follow-up to Seasons of the Soul.

Set in a distant post-apocalyptic future, the narrative revolves around an elite group of intellectuals engaged in an intricate game that synthesizes cultural and scientific knowledge from various eras. This profound exploration of modern life's complexities showcases Herman Hesse at the peak of his creativity, reflecting his philosophical insights. Celebrated by literary figures like Thomas Mann and T. S. Eliot, it stands as a significant work of the twentieth century, encapsulating Hesse's prophetic vision and artistic mastery.

Schoolboy Emil Sinclair boasts of a theft and finds himself blackmailed by a bully. He turns to Max Demain in whom he finds a friend and mentor. Under this strangely self-possessed figure's guidance, Emil discovers a new world of corruption and evil.

Steppenwolf is a poetical self-portrait of a man who felt himself to be half-human and half-wolf. This Faust-like and magical story is evidence of Hesse's searching philosophy and extraordinary sense of humanity as he tells of the humanization of a middle-aged misanthrope. Yet this novel can also be seen as a plea for rigorous self-examination and an indictment of the intellectual hypocrisy of the period. As Hesse himself remarked, "Of all my books Steppenwolf is the one that was more often and more violently misunderstood than any other".

The Glass Bead Game, for which Hesse won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946, is the author’s last and crowning achievement, the most imaginative and prophetic of all his novels. Setting the story in the distant postapocalyptic future, Hesse tells of an elite cult of intellectuals who play an elaborate game that uses all the cultural and scientific knowledge of the Ages. The Glass Bead Game is a fascinating tale of the complexity of modern life as well as a classic of modern literature. This edition features a Foreword by Theodore Ziolkowski that places the book in the full context of Hesse’s thought.