Menu
At the time of reading, this was my favorite Hesse book and, indeed, it is probably his quintessential novel, the one to recommend for anyone wanting to check him out. I have given away copies of it for this purpose to several persons over the years. Contrary to the description in Wikipedia, I read the novel from the perspective of Goldmund being lost and then found. Seduced by the snares of the world, he leaves the peace of the monastic life for a life of trial and error, ultimately, as an old m At the time of reading, this was my favorite Hesse book and, indeed, it is probably his quintessential novel, the one to recommend for anyone wanting to check him out. I have given away copies of it for this purpose to several persons over the years. Contrary to the description in Wikipedia, I read the novel from the perspective of Goldmund being lost and then found.
Seduced by the snares of the world, he leaves the peace of the monastic life for a life of trial and error, ultimately, as an old man, returning to where he began. Since in his case experience led to wisdom, Goldmund represented to me the via positiva, the path to enlightenment which leads through lovingly appropriated experience, while Narcissus, remaining behind in the monastery, represented the via negativa, the path to enlightenment obtained by critical thinking and contemplative withdrawal. This, the essential identity behind two ostensibly very different paths along life's way, reminded me also of the two main schools of Buddhism, the big and little boats, Mahayana and Hinyana Buddhism.
One is also reminded of the same distinction when the lives of Christian saints as different at Francis of Assisi and Simeon of the Desert are sympathetically compared. There is truth to it. This is not to say that the reference made by the Wikipedia writer to Nietzsche's Apollonian and Dionysian is incorrect. Given the intellectual influences obtaining in Hesse's circles and the nature of his missionary family it is likely that both were considered. My own reading was influenced by having studied mysticism by this time and not yet having read Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy.
What I really like about Hermann Hesse, here and elsewhere, is that he really cared, cared about people, cared about culture and cared about the natural world. Most everything he wrote, from his novels and short stories to his political essays, attempts to be constructive, to share something of what he had learned of importance with others. He wrote to the better side of our natures, both emotional and intellectual.
I am so glad that young people are still reading him despite the many years which have passed since his last great work, The Glass Bead Game, in 1943. The Artist and the Smartist The Winker and the Thinker “We fear death, we shudder at life's instability, we grieve to see the flowers wilt again and again, and the leaves fall, and in our hearts we know that we, too, are transitory and will soon disappear. When artists create pictures and thinkers search for laws and formulate thoughts, it is in order to salvage something from the great dance of death, to make something last longer than we do.” This philosophical novel provides perhaps the most viv The Artist and the Smartist The Winker and the Thinker “We fear death, we shudder at life's instability, we grieve to see the flowers wilt again and again, and the leaves fall, and in our hearts we know that we, too, are transitory and will soon disappear. When artists create pictures and thinkers search for laws and formulate thoughts, it is in order to salvage something from the great dance of death, to make something last longer than we do.” This philosophical novel provides perhaps the most vivid contrast I've read between, on one hand, the beauty of the skin, visual art and sensual pleasures, and, on the other, splendours of the spirit, stability, science and logic. Published in 1930, this is Herman Hesse's brilliant story of two friends in medieval Germany. Largely metaphorical, this has the feel of a cautionary fairy tale with no true compass as to geography or time. The story begins when Goldmund, a student, and Narcissus, a teacher only a few years older, become friends at a cloister school.
At first, Goldmund earnestly focuses on his studies, but then a few fellow students invite him to go off campus, where he's seduced by a young Gypsy girl. From that day forward, his mind never wanders far from thoughts of women, their sheer beauty and the pleasures of the senses. He leaves and on his journeys he has numerous affairs with women of all ages, statuses and sizes (similar to Wilt Chamberlain in legion and legend). All women find him irresistible.
Yes, the novel is sexist. Goldmund falls for the first young lady to say no, loses her to the serpent of lust for her younger, prettier sister, and then travels far and wide. He settles to become a sculptor for several years, able to brilliantly capture the beauty he has seen. He becomes restless, continues his travels and runs into the unmitigated ugliness of the Black Death. I'll add no more so I don't spoil the story, except to say that when both Goldmund and Narcissus, now an abbot, are much older, they visit and converse at length with each other. This is an excellent classic. Can I just say that I absolutely love Hermann Hesse.
For me his words speak directly to my soul. I have never exclusively followed an author except Hesse.
He is absolutely brilliant and his works are so nuanced to the point where they only mean anything to the reader unless they can relate in some profound way. I have now finished all of his major works and I must say 'bravo'. All of his books are about the turmoil and duality of the human soul. He speaks my language. My next goal is to learn Ge Can I just say that I absolutely love Hermann Hesse. For me his words speak directly to my soul. I have never exclusively followed an author except Hesse.
He is absolutely brilliant and his works are so nuanced to the point where they only mean anything to the reader unless they can relate in some profound way. I have now finished all of his major works and I must say 'bravo'. All of his books are about the turmoil and duality of the human soul. He speaks my language.
My next goal is to learn German so I can read his books again in his native tongue. Goldmund and Narcissus is about that duality except in the form of two separate characters. One is a thinker the other a feeler, one values rationality and reason and the other values intuition. One lives in the world of abstract ideas and the other in the world of sensuality and the senses. One lives the life of a duty bound priest the other an Artist. Neither is held in higher regard over the other. Both struggle to find the meaning of their nature.
I especially enjoyed the part where Narcissus talks about when someone who is meant to be an artist tries to live the life of a thinker evil ensues. There is danger in trying to force themselves into that false role. He calls the artist-thinker a mystic. Thinkers and artists alike have their place in the world and neither should think they are superior to the other for they are antithesis of each other. This is not a review.
This is an expression of gratitude. Enlightened does not begin to describe the feeling one gets when eyes see, mind is set in motion, and images are processed into thoughts that seed the way we look at everything. We SEE everything in a new light, at least for as long as we remember what is important, what makes a difference. The beginning of our true life.
I suppose all we can ask of our mind is for a few moments of enlightenment at a time. And, to remember.
Too much would This is not a review. This is an expression of gratitude. Enlightened does not begin to describe the feeling one gets when eyes see, mind is set in motion, and images are processed into thoughts that seed the way we look at everything.
We SEE everything in a new light, at least for as long as we remember what is important, what makes a difference. The beginning of our true life. I suppose all we can ask of our mind is for a few moments of enlightenment at a time. And, to remember. Too much would be overkill, too little starvation. Let us be comforted with whatever ration of enlightenment we are allowed. Let us not forget that we are allowed these moments, we are not entitled them.
Herr Hesse, with your beautiful words, you allowed me to imagine enlightenment, to see, to take nothing for granted. When I was a child my parents used to punish me for my bad actions in their own way: I often had the prohibition of reading for a week.
Of course I wasn't so nerd at that time and together with reading there could be no tv, no bmx rides with friends, no late night awake and all sorts of 'normal' don'ts. But the worst one was definitely the 'no reading week'. Later in my teenage years, I remember how my mum was very glad about my reading activity, but not particularly interested in influencing that When I was a child my parents used to punish me for my bad actions in their own way: I often had the prohibition of reading for a week. Of course I wasn't so nerd at that time and together with reading there could be no tv, no bmx rides with friends, no late night awake and all sorts of 'normal' don'ts.
But the worst one was definitely the 'no reading week'. Later in my teenage years, I remember how my mum was very glad about my reading activity, but not particularly interested in influencing that favourite pastime of mine with her tips. As far as I remember the only exception was 'Narcissus and Goldmund'. 'Mum, I read 'Candide'.
How nice it was!' 'Good for you. But you should rather read Narcissus and Goldmund'.
'Mum, 'The Buddenbrooks' is very interesting. What a surprise!' Yet, you would appreciate more 'Narcissus and Goldmund'. 'Mum, I have to admit it: 'Rosshalde' is kind of interesting'.
But that's nothing compared to 'Narcissus and Goldmund': you might read it!' 'Mum, this 'Elective affinities' is a masterpiece of romanticism'. 'I know, but why don't you read 'Narcissus and Goldmund?' You must do it!' Ok, I resisted for many years.
When I was younger I never liked when people were forcing me to read anything. At school, in family. Then came my late twenties and I finally capitulated: I took 'Narcissus and Goldmund' in my hands.
Albeit the awful, terrifying front cover graphic chosen by the Italian editor (think about the name 'Hesse' wrote in the same style, way and colours of the notorious 'Esso' logo on a grey background.) I decided to leaf through the book pages. I was really surprised. After managing to win over the first 'philosophical' part of the novel, that I found a bit too slow, I discovered a surprisingly libertine book. Not that bad, of course, but exactly the opposite I would have expected as a tip from my mum. Eventually 'Narcissus and Goldmund' was an involving reading.
Although I think that sometimes Hesse stumbles on the thin line between allegory and parody, this book worths a reading. I like the historical-yet-undetermined contest of the book even if the Goldmund character doesn't look that realistic to me. The way Goldmund walks around the world is very 'Candidesque' and picaresque and I do like this sort of mood. At the same time, Herman Hesse is more accurate and, in my opinion, does a better job in picturing Narcissus, who at least behaves as a man in his adulthood rather than a whimsical, naive boy as Goldmund stays for the whole book without having a real evolution despite all the life (and sexual) experiences he had. I know this won't be appreciated by those who consider this book formative, but the same comeback of Goldmund to the monastery where he spent his earlier pious years looks more like a defeat than as an inner development of him. Now I just wonder if my mum wished to make a Narcissus or a Goldmund out of me.
Frankly I'm a bit scared to ask her. Novel Entertainment? What the author meant by this writing? Well, like any true art- that depends on the audience.
I can go into all the philosophical existential yakkity yak that a lot of other people might get from Narcissus and Goldmund, but instead I'm gonna give you the nuts and bolts (ie pared down yakkity yak) of what I saw in it. Goldmund is a born artist with a innate bent toward the agony and bliss of wanting to eat life- not just watch it parade on by Philosophical? Novel Entertainment? What the author meant by this writing?
Well, like any true art- that depends on the audience. I can go into all the philosophical existential yakkity yak that a lot of other people might get from Narcissus and Goldmund, but instead I'm gonna give you the nuts and bolts (ie pared down yakkity yak) of what I saw in it. Goldmund is a born artist with a innate bent toward the agony and bliss of wanting to eat life- not just watch it parade on by through a view from a window. Narcissus is his opposite. He is the thinker, the one who excises feelings and exalts logic and the mind above all else.
But this book isn't about two people, it's about one. You, the reader. Narcissus and Goldmund are an allegory of the dichotomy of man, the struggle of balancing and preferring one aspect of who you are to another, because- Dear God, are we complex. One part longs to experience life and run at it full tilt, but the logical part says a life like that is reckless and cannot be sustained. Narcissus always loved Goldmund, more than that- admired his young friend's natural beauty and talents, despite the fact he was his polar opposite- and that kept him on stable ground. It took a lifetime of wandering for Goldmund to come to the same conclusion about Narcissus- unfortunately he only found stability at the very end.
Some might think the ending for Goldmund one of disappointment- but really, only one could survive in this tale of a search for inner peace. Truly it could only be elder, settled wisdom who would survive. Just like Narcissus, for one to find that kind of peace, you must reconcile every part of yourselves and integrate them into the whole- accepted, just as they are.
Too many never get that. As one who often struggled in the past with this exact same duality- I thoroughly enjoyed this novel- not only did it startle my Narcissus with its alarming insight it appeased the passionate Goldmund in me with it's bawdiness at times.:P It's books like these that make me glad I'm a reader. If you have a penchant for poetic language, a love for new experiences, and a sensitivity to life's struggles, you will find hope and deep beauty in this story. I recommend finding a place of solitude and spiritual transcendence before delving into this as you will inevitably flip back to the beginning once finished and have to read it again. “If I know what love is, it is because of you.
It is not our purpose to become each other; it is to recognize each other, to learn to see the other and honor If you have a penchant for poetic language, a love for new experiences, and a sensitivity to life's struggles, you will find hope and deep beauty in this story. I recommend finding a place of solitude and spiritual transcendence before delving into this as you will inevitably flip back to the beginning once finished and have to read it again. “If I know what love is, it is because of you. It is not our purpose to become each other; it is to recognize each other, to learn to see the other and honor him for what he is: each the other's opposite and complement. We fear death, we shudder at life's instability, we grieve to see the flowers wilt again and again, and the leaves fall, and in our hearts we know that we, too, are transitory and will soon disappear. When artists create pictures and thinkers search for laws and formulate thoughts, it is in order to salvage something from the great dance of death, to make something that lasts longer than we do. All existence seemed to be based on duality, on contrast.
Either one was a man or one was a woman, either a wanderer or sedentary burgher, either a thinking person or a feeling person-no one could breathe in at the same time as he breathed out, be a man as well as a woman, experience freedom as well as order, combine instinct and mind. One always had to pay for one with the loss of the other, and one thing was always just as important and desirable as the other.
How mysterious this life was, how deep and muddy its waters ran, yet how clear and noble what emerged from them.”. The book is spectacular and extremely thought provoking.
Out of all, probably the following paragraph left the adequate impression. “All existence seemed to be based on duality, on contrast. Either one was a man or one was a woman, either a wanderer or a sedentary burgher, either a thinking person or a feeling person – no one could breathe in at the same time as he breathed out, be a man as well as a woman, experience freedom as well as order, combine instinct and mind. One always had to pay for The book is spectacular and extremely thought provoking. Out of all, probably the following paragraph left the adequate impression. “All existence seemed to be based on duality, on contrast.
Either one was a man or one was a woman, either a wanderer or a sedentary burgher, either a thinking person or a feeling person – no one could breathe in at the same time as he breathed out, be a man as well as a woman, experience freedom as well as order, combine instinct and mind. One always had to pay for the one with the loss of the other, and one thing was always just as important and desirable as the other.” Is it then the futile attempt to balance between the two inner clashes, being the most difficult of all professions, a hypocrisy to an incomplete life? Goldmund could not fit into the Mariabronn Monastery anymore than a square peg could fit into a round hole and soon left the cloister for the vagrant life. By sleeping in the woods, killing Viktor the thief, meeting the plague, studying under Meister Niklaus and romancing with Lydia and Julie, Lene and Agnes, he explored the sensual life as an artist. When Agnes rejected the old man that he was, he returned to the monastery to meet his friend and mentor Narziss before leaving the world.
Calw, Ge Goldmund could not fit into the Mariabronn Monastery anymore than a square peg could fit into a round hole and soon left the cloister for the vagrant life. By sleeping in the woods, killing Viktor the thief, meeting the plague, studying under Meister Niklaus and romancing with Lydia and Julie, Lene and Agnes, he explored the sensual life as an artist.
When Agnes rejected the old man that he was, he returned to the monastery to meet his friend and mentor Narziss before leaving the world. Calw, Germany On the other hand, at home in Mariabronn with the chestnut tree and knowing that his way differs from that of Goldmund, Narziss, isolated from the flesh’s pleasure and pain, lived out the monastic life, praying, meditating, searching for enlightenment through intellectual and ascetic disciplines. The way of the mystic was for Narziss as much as the way of the artist was for Goldmund. Hermann Hesse Hermann Hesse, throughout his life, sought Goldmund’s artistic way-the emotional, prodigal, active, and sensual path-but ended up with Narziss’s mystical way-the intellectual, disciplined, contemplative, and ascetic path. This beautifully written philosophical novel, that like most of Hesse’s work explores the theme of individual search for self-realization, was a genuine pleasure to read as well as to reflect on later on.
It is one of those books that stays with you. I read it ages ago, but I can remember it without making any mental effort whatsoever. It stayed in my heart and in my mind. The language used is fairly simple, but beautiful nevertheless and powerful in the messages it delivers. The story is quite This beautifully written philosophical novel, that like most of Hesse’s work explores the theme of individual search for self-realization, was a genuine pleasure to read as well as to reflect on later on.
It is one of those books that stays with you. I read it ages ago, but I can remember it without making any mental effort whatsoever. It stayed in my heart and in my mind. The language used is fairly simple, but beautiful nevertheless and powerful in the messages it delivers. Windows keystrokes to zoom in. The story is quite easy to follow, which is logical because it is focused mostly on one character. As the novel has to do with his own personal search for beauty, it could be said that the story of his life (and all the events that take place) isn’t the focus of this novel. I mean there is a story to follow, as philosophical as it may be, this novel is never a mere collection of meditations and essays.
There is the main character whose life story we shall learn and there are also other characters that matter, that aren’t only symbols, yet it is clear from the start that the story of the protagonist’s life isn’t the only thing that matters in this novel, that there is some deeper message to be found. The novel is less focused on events as than on mediating about the meaning of live itself.
It is about spiritualty? That depends on how you see it, how you define spirituality, this is not a book that will feed you any dogma or give you a set of rules to live. Narcissus and Goldmund is a novel that doesn’t show you the meaning of life, for such a thing is hardly possibile, but what does this novel do is show you what such a search looks like.
It is about searching for meaning. We are all trying to make sense of this world we live it.
We do it in our own different ways, for we’re all endowed with different temperaments and characters. Hence, there are no easy answers. I see this book as a meditation on the beauty and the power of Art. Any flaws that appear in the narrative therefore I find to be irrelevant. I think that I didn’t even experience Narcissus and Goldmund as a typical narrative. It's more philosophical in nature, more a novel of ideas, more like reading a religious text than anything else, and that is the beauty of it. Or at least that is what I have found in it.
What a profound novel it really is! I loved the contrast between the two main characters, Narcissus and Goldmund and the true friendship that exists between them. That was my favourite part of the book and I think it adds a lot of depth to the writing as a whole. The writer managed to create a wonderful character to contrast our protagonist. The friendship he described was very touching, but never sentimental.
It is true emotional, pure and beautiful. I believe that such a friendship is a very rare thing. Perhaps what I liked most about this book is how it acknowledges the fundamental differences that can and often do exist between two people. So much more refreshing (and closer to truth) than saying we're all alike. Just observing that delicate friendships that oddly sometimes exist between the people who see the world in completely different way somehow felt enriching. It made me rethink great deal of things.
Not all differences are differences and not all the similarities, one could say. However, one might mean different things by saying this.
The meaning of words is harder to pin down than we think. We're so used to thinking in a certain way, most of us anyway, that we fail to understand that there is always something more, something behind our words that we cannot explain. This novel did a wonderful job of capturing that and I love it for it.
Take for example this friendship between Narcissus and Goldmund. From a worldly perspective, these two man have nothing in common and yet on some higher level they feel a deep connection, the kind that most people never experience.and yet the similarity between them is as important as the difference is. If I would care to, I could find a number of illogical things in this novel (unrealistic stories or plot developments, characterization of minor characters etc), small imperfections and weak points. However, I don’t want to. There is a reason why I don’t feel like doing it. The point is that this novel is a great piece of writing. I don't care to even notice those small flaws and the reason why I don't care to do so is because this is a work of art.
Being what it is, in one way I really do feel that is perfect as it is. You don't dissect a work of art. This is a work of art, of that I’m absolutely sure. Perhaps this book is interesting as an example of the dichotomization of body/mind, angel/whore, ascete/wayfarer. Put the dicktalk aside (which is no small task here) and you still have an enormous vine from which to swing back and forth from pole to pole. At best woman is subject here, at worst she so thoroughly blends into the background she's invisible. More than bleak considering this is a meditation on the roles of the artist and thinker (and never the twain shall meet mind you) in a modern Perhaps this book is interesting as an example of the dichotomization of body/mind, angel/whore, ascete/wayfarer.
Pangu jailbreak released for iOS 9.2 through 9.3.3 running 64 bit devices Great news everyone! Pangu team just released their latest update for Jailbreak iOS 9.3.3 to. Iphone 4 hacktivate tool download. Here you can download free iphone 4 hacktivate tool all ios exe shared files found in our database: Unlock iPhone 4, 3G & 3GS On iOS 4.0 With UltraSn0w.pdf from.
Put the dicktalk aside (which is no small task here) and you still have an enormous vine from which to swing back and forth from pole to pole. At best woman is subject here, at worst she so thoroughly blends into the background she's invisible. More than bleak considering this is a meditation on the roles of the artist and thinker (and never the twain shall meet mind you) in a modern world.
While i suppose Hesse was trying to justify the new free-thinking, free-loving, long hair wearing male artist of the twentieth century, he really does less to exhort new modes of being and more towards the reinforcement of woman-loathing Cartesian dualism. She is both giver and taker away and yet completely and utterly powerless as an entity free of him, the center; she has no option but to be both the beginning and end of him.
Intellect and Passion 17 July 2015 This is the first Hesse book that I have read and I must thank my book club for selecting it for the June book. I have to say that I wasn't really sure what to expect – the only other German author that I had read that happened to be a contemporary of Hesse was Gunter Grass and his play was much more political in scope. However, with books like sitting on my shelf, I probably shouldn't be to surprised that Hesse tends Intellect and Passion 17 July 2015 This is the first Hesse book that I have read and I must thank my book club for selecting it for the June book. I have to say that I wasn't really sure what to expect – the only other German author that I had read that happened to be a contemporary of Hesse was Gunter Grass and his play was much more political in scope. However, with books like sitting on my shelf, I probably shouldn't be to surprised that Hesse tends to take a much more spiritual slant than does Grass. Anyway, the story is about this young boy, Goldmund, who is dropped off at a monastery by his father and meets the monk Narcissus.
Goldmund, as it turned out, never knew his mother (apparently she was a prostitute) so never experienced the nurture that having a mother brings. As such he falls in love with Narcissus, but is rebuffed by him, and Narcissus ends up locking himself away in a room to meditate. Goldmund, meanwhile, goes for a walk in the country and encounters a gypsy woman who then makes love to him and as such he discovers the beauty of sex. Mistaking sex for love he decides to leave the monastery and to spend his time with this gypsy girl, however when he returns she tells him that she is married and must return to her husband. So instead of returning to the monastery he decides to wander the land where he sleeps with many, many women and comes to understand himself as an artist.
Sex As I said, I wasn't really sure what I was going to expect from the novel and when it became clear that Goldmund was pretty much wandering around medieval Germany having heaps and heaps of sex I was sort of wandering whether this was little more than soft porn, or whether Hesse had an influence on. In fact the one thing that kept on coming to mind was how would a feminist take this book. Basically we have this guy who seems to have a huge amount of sex-appeal to the point that women simply want to rip off their clothes and basically (pardon the French) screw his brains out.
In a way it seemed to be little more that what I got from. However, the more I think about it the more I realise that this is not necessarily the case. Sure, the first girl he encounters wants to have sex with him, but at the time he was an innocent young man who had basically been tempted by a gypsy.
As we progress through the novel we come to see that the women aren't necessarily all throwing themselves at him and that he must seduce them. This is the case in the knight's castle where he has to seduce Lydia, as well as the concubine at the end of the book. Also, not every girl is caught by his charms. Firstly, in the knight's castle, when Julia decides to climb into bed with him, while Lydia is also there, you are (or at least I was) expecting there to be a threesome, and just as it is about the begin Lydia storms out and tells her father (resulting in some bad things happening). Also, when he encounters the Jewish girl, she soundly rebukes him. I probably should also mention that at the end of the book, when he discovers that his favourite concubine has returned, when he encounters her she is no longer interested in him. The other thing that is interesting is that Goldmund isn't actually a dashing young man – he is poor and homeless, much like this guy: Though we must remember that this is the medieval world as opposed to the modern world.
Still, he is poor and he is wandering from town to town with no purpose and no goal. As for the girls that he ends up sleeping with, they aren't princesses, they are peasant girls, thought probably not like this one because she is somewhat idealised: Purpose The interesting thing about Goldmund is that he has no purpose in lif, and this is something that keeps on coming back to us.
He is a wanderer, a vagrant, with no goal and no desire behind his immediate pleasure. This is something that he is confronted with at the beginning of the book since Narcissus has a goal but Goldmund doesn't. In a way the journey that he takes is a journey in search of himself and in search of goal. He does find one a couple of times, but once he has succeeded in this goal he is left, once again, to wander the world in search of meaning. In fact, even at the end of the book when he goes on his final, fateful, journey, it is clear that there is no real over arching goal to his life.
Once he has completed his immediate goal he is left to wander a meaningless existence until he meets his fate. In many ways this seems to be a reflection of our modern world. As a young person I had a goal, and that was to complete university. Once I had achieved that goal I needed a new one, and that was to get a job. Yet with many of us once we have that job that is all life becomes.
Getting up early, going to the office, working, and then going home (in a way it seems that we live the existance that Bill Murray did in Groundhog Day). Okay, many of us get married, but that is another chain that binds us to a meaningless existence of work, sleep, work, weekend, and the occasional holidays (if we are lucky enough to get that). If we have to goal, once we hit the world of the worker these goals suddenly become out of reach. In a way many of our goals are meaningless, and simply, like Goldmund, become a repetitive search for fleeting pleasure. However, what he comes to realise is that the fleeting pleasure is meaningless because what is more important is to leave a legacy. Many of us get to that point where we end up becoming little more than a shadowy existence – we are born, we live, and then we die. In the grand scheme of things our existence is little more than dust that quickly blows away into forgetfulness.
Sure, there are some who have left a lasting impact, but how many of the wealthy elite of 19th Century England are still remembered today? Even more, who can name the CEO's of the major corporations back in the 60s, the 70s, or even the 80s. Sure, these people were rich and lived luxurious lives, but in the end they have been forgotten. In fact, who is even going to remember the name of the CEO of the Ford Motor Company ten years from now?
Art Goldmund's legacy turned out to be art, and Hesse's idea here is interesting in that he suggests that the work of the artist comes out of the artist's passion. The interesting thing about these two characters (and I will get to Narcissus shortly) is that neither of them are incredibly wealthy, but both of them left behind a legacy, or at least Goldmund did. In a way wealth isn't necessarily something that will end up creating a name for yourself, and in fact if we consider many of the people that did leave behind a legacy, none of them are particularly wealthy.
Take for instance the guy who painted this picture: We have all heard of Van Gogh, and many of us think that he was a brilliant artist, however not many people at the time he painted this painting thought all that much of him. In fact he wasn't all that wealthy either. Or consider this guy: Sure, he wrote some incredibly popular plays and novels, such as The Importance of Being Ernest and but he died without a cent to his name. Also, despite what you believe, there is also this guy: who is apparently one of the most recognisable figures in Western Culture (though according Ronald McDonald is much more recognisable, but that is beside the point) was executed of blasphemy and basically grew up as a peasant and spent the last three years of his life wandering around ancient Palestine as an itinerant preacher. I guess my point is, and the idea that came out of this novel, is that wealth doesn't necessarily leave a legacy, and in fact many of the wealthy people of times past are little more than footnotes in history (if that) yet many of the people who at the time were considered to be hopeless losers, never capable of amounting to anything, have left an enduring legacy. Narcissus One of the odd things about this book is the character of Narcissus.
The name comes from an about this really beautiful dude who didn't realise that his was beautiful, but was then tricked into looking into a pond and ended up dying because he could not stop looking at the beautiful image in the pond. Hesse's Narcissus didn't come across like that. Rather, to me, he was one of those dry intellectuals that locks himself in his ivory tower contemplating the meaning of life. I guess the beginning of the book painted him as such when he withdrew from Goldmund simply because he could not handle the fact that Goldmund loved him. However it wasn't until the end, when Goldmund returns from his travels, and then leaves again, that he realises how much he admired the guy. The suggestion is that Hesse is painting the picture of the passionate artist and the souless intellectual and how while both of them seem to be completely the opposite but in many ways are the same.
I guess it isn't something that I really can equate to though, since after finishing this book, in a way I am both Goldmund and Narcissus – you could say a passionate intellectual. Shamefully, I only started reading this because I had a competition that took it as a subject.
I was told I had to read this in order to compete. It was already on my reading list, I already loved Hesse, so I knew I was in for a treat. Surprise surprise, the competition had no connection to the book whatsoever. The text in there was by Miller and in no way related to this. Nonetheless, let's get back to the review.
It's one of my favorite books of 2013. About that - I will post a list of them an Shamefully, I only started reading this because I had a competition that took it as a subject. I was told I had to read this in order to compete.
It was already on my reading list, I already loved Hesse, so I knew I was in for a treat. Surprise surprise, the competition had no connection to the book whatsoever. The text in there was by Miller and in no way related to this.
Nonetheless, let's get back to the review. It's one of my favorite books of 2013. About that - I will post a list of them and some details on my blog, which you can acces here. For the book, now. Flawless writing, perfect character building, analytical to the bone, honest to human emotions, chilling in its truth. Just perfect.
One of those works you don't take for granted because you know for sure they meant work and dedication and were written in virtue of experience and for only one purpose: unveiling the true nature of things. I don't even want to get into details because I fear I'll spoil the experience for anyone who's interested out there. Hesse delivers, as he usually does, a piece that is full of force and thought. His writing is at times impossible to follow and at times easily understood. One of the few writers that I know to use this technique, he combines the 'stream of counciousness' technique with rapid firing of dialogues or vivid descriptions. Written in the third person and still very personal, it leaves this feeling of permanent presence in his character's minds and it's stunning how at times he seems to see so well into the human mind and descipher mysteries that others were afraid to. Capable of both fluid and hard writing, Hesse gives off the feeling of fullness.
His books are complete. That is a wonderful ability for a writer. Take this book in, please, if you read it. Don't rush through the pages.
Understand it and let it understand you. This deserves a round of applause and be sure to give it that at the end. I see this book as a meditation on the beauty and the power of Art. Any flaws that appear in the narrative therefore I find to be irrelevant. I think that I don't even experience Narcissus and Goldmund as a novel. It's more philosophical in nature, more a novel of ideas, more like reading a religious text than anything else, and that is the beauty of it.
Or at least that is what I have found in it. I loved the contrast between the two main characters, Narcissus and Goldmund and the true friend I see this book as a meditation on the beauty and the power of Art. Any flaws that appear in the narrative therefore I find to be irrelevant. I think that I don't even experience Narcissus and Goldmund as a novel.
It's more philosophical in nature, more a novel of ideas, more like reading a religious text than anything else, and that is the beauty of it. Or at least that is what I have found in it. I loved the contrast between the two main characters, Narcissus and Goldmund and the true friendship that exist between them.
I believe that such a friendship is a very rare thing. Perhaps what I liked most about this book is how it acknowledges the fundamental differences that can and often do exist between two people. So much more refreshing (and closer to truth) than saying we're all alike.
Observing that delicate friendships that oddly sometimes exist between the people who see the world in completely different way somehow feels enriching. Not all differences are differences and not all the similarities similarities, one could say. However, one might mean different things by saying this. The meaning of words is harder to pin down than we think. We're so used to thinking in a certain way, most of us anyway, that we fail to understand that there is always something more, something behind our words that we cannot explain.
From a worldly perspective, these two man have nothing in common and yet on some higher level they feel a deep connection, the kind that most people never experience.and yet the similarity between them is as important as the difference is. Perhaps I'm not making any sense.Anyway, I guess that generally it could be said that there was plenty to think about while reading this novel. If I would cared to, I could find many illogical parts in this novel(unrealistic stories or plot developments, characterization of minor characters etc), many imperfections and weak points. However, the point is that I don't care to do so.and the reason why I don't care to is because this is a work of art.and because I really do feel that is perfect as it is.
You don't dissect a work of art. Hermann Hesse was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter.
In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. His best known works include Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game (also known as Magister Ludi) which explore an individual's search for spirituality outside society. In his time, Hesse was a popular and influential author in the German-speaking world; worldwide fame only ca Hermann Hesse was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. His best known works include Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game (also known as Magister Ludi) which explore an individual's search for spirituality outside society. In his time, Hesse was a popular and influential author in the German-speaking world; worldwide fame only came later. Hesse's first great novel, 'Peter Camenzind', was received enthusiastically by young Germans desiring a different and more 'natural' way of life at the time of great economic and technological progress in the country.
Throughout Germany, many schools are named after him. In 1964, the Calwer Hermann-Hesse-Preis was founded, which is awarded every two years, alternately to a German-language literary journal or to the translator of Hesse's work to a foreign language. There is also a Hermann Hesse prize associated with the city of Karlsruhe,Germany.
Seduced by the snares of the world, he leaves the peace of the monastic life for a life of trial and error, ultimately, as an old man, returning to where he began. Since in his case experience led to wisdom, Goldmund represented to me the via positiva, the path to enlightenment which leads through lovingly appropriated experience, while Narcissus, remaining behind in the monastery, represented the via negativa, the path to enlightenment obtained by critical thinking and contemplative withdrawal. This, the essential identity behind two ostensibly very different paths along life's way, reminded me also of the two main schools of Buddhism, the big and little boats, Mahayana and Hinyana Buddhism. One is also reminded of the same distinction when the lives of Christian saints as different at Francis of Assisi and Simeon of the Desert are sympathetically compared. There is truth to it. This is not to say that the reference made by the Wikipedia writer to Nietzsche's Apollonian and Dionysian is incorrect. Given the intellectual influences obtaining in Hesse's circles and the nature of his missionary family it is likely that both were considered.
My own reading was influenced by having studied mysticism by this time and not yet having read Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy. What I really like about Hermann Hesse, here and elsewhere, is that he really cared, cared about people, cared about culture and cared about the natural world. Most everything he wrote, from his novels and short stories to his political essays, attempts to be constructive, to share something of what he had learned of importance with others. He wrote to the better side of our natures, both emotional and intellectual. I am so glad that young people are still reading him despite the many years which have passed since his last great work, The Glass Bead Game, in 1943. The Artist and the Smartist The Winker and the Thinker “We fear death, we shudder at life's instability, we grieve to see the flowers wilt again and again, and the leaves fall, and in our hearts we know that we, too, are transitory and will soon disappear. When artists create pictures and thinkers search for laws and formulate thoughts, it is in order to salvage something from the great dance of death, to make something last longer than we do.” This philosophical novel provides perhaps the most viv The Artist and the Smartist The Winker and the Thinker “We fear death, we shudder at life's instability, we grieve to see the flowers wilt again and again, and the leaves fall, and in our hearts we know that we, too, are transitory and will soon disappear.
When artists create pictures and thinkers search for laws and formulate thoughts, it is in order to salvage something from the great dance of death, to make something last longer than we do.” This philosophical novel provides perhaps the most vivid contrast I've read between, on one hand, the beauty of the skin, visual art and sensual pleasures, and, on the other, splendours of the spirit, stability, science and logic. Published in 1930, this is Herman Hesse's brilliant story of two friends in medieval Germany. Largely metaphorical, this has the feel of a cautionary fairy tale with no true compass as to geography or time. The story begins when Goldmund, a student, and Narcissus, a teacher only a few years older, become friends at a cloister school. At first, Goldmund earnestly focuses on his studies, but then a few fellow students invite him to go off campus, where he's seduced by a young Gypsy girl.
From that day forward, his mind never wanders far from thoughts of women, their sheer beauty and the pleasures of the senses. He leaves and on his journeys he has numerous affairs with women of all ages, statuses and sizes (similar to Wilt Chamberlain in legion and legend). All women find him irresistible.
Yes, the novel is sexist. Goldmund falls for the first young lady to say no, loses her to the serpent of lust for her younger, prettier sister, and then travels far and wide. He settles to become a sculptor for several years, able to brilliantly capture the beauty he has seen. He becomes restless, continues his travels and runs into the unmitigated ugliness of the Black Death.
I'll add no more so I don't spoil the story, except to say that when both Goldmund and Narcissus, now an abbot, are much older, they visit and converse at length with each other. This is an excellent classic. Can I just say that I absolutely love Hermann Hesse. For me his words speak directly to my soul. I have never exclusively followed an author except Hesse. He is absolutely brilliant and his works are so nuanced to the point where they only mean anything to the reader unless they can relate in some profound way. I have now finished all of his major works and I must say 'bravo'.
All of his books are about the turmoil and duality of the human soul. He speaks my language. My next goal is to learn Ge Can I just say that I absolutely love Hermann Hesse. For me his words speak directly to my soul. I have never exclusively followed an author except Hesse.
He is absolutely brilliant and his works are so nuanced to the point where they only mean anything to the reader unless they can relate in some profound way. I have now finished all of his major works and I must say 'bravo'. All of his books are about the turmoil and duality of the human soul. He speaks my language. My next goal is to learn German so I can read his books again in his native tongue. Goldmund and Narcissus is about that duality except in the form of two separate characters.
One is a thinker the other a feeler, one values rationality and reason and the other values intuition. One lives in the world of abstract ideas and the other in the world of sensuality and the senses.
One lives the life of a duty bound priest the other an Artist. Neither is held in higher regard over the other.
Both struggle to find the meaning of their nature. I especially enjoyed the part where Narcissus talks about when someone who is meant to be an artist tries to live the life of a thinker evil ensues.
There is danger in trying to force themselves into that false role. He calls the artist-thinker a mystic.
Thinkers and artists alike have their place in the world and neither should think they are superior to the other for they are antithesis of each other. This is not a review. This is an expression of gratitude. Enlightened does not begin to describe the feeling one gets when eyes see, mind is set in motion, and images are processed into thoughts that seed the way we look at everything. We SEE everything in a new light, at least for as long as we remember what is important, what makes a difference.
The beginning of our true life. I suppose all we can ask of our mind is for a few moments of enlightenment at a time. And, to remember. Too much would This is not a review. This is an expression of gratitude. Enlightened does not begin to describe the feeling one gets when eyes see, mind is set in motion, and images are processed into thoughts that seed the way we look at everything. We SEE everything in a new light, at least for as long as we remember what is important, what makes a difference.
The beginning of our true life. I suppose all we can ask of our mind is for a few moments of enlightenment at a time. And, to remember.
Too much would be overkill, too little starvation. Let us be comforted with whatever ration of enlightenment we are allowed.
Let us not forget that we are allowed these moments, we are not entitled them. Herr Hesse, with your beautiful words, you allowed me to imagine enlightenment, to see, to take nothing for granted. When I was a child my parents used to punish me for my bad actions in their own way: I often had the prohibition of reading for a week. Of course I wasn't so nerd at that time and together with reading there could be no tv, no bmx rides with friends, no late night awake and all sorts of 'normal' don'ts. But the worst one was definitely the 'no reading week'.
Later in my teenage years, I remember how my mum was very glad about my reading activity, but not particularly interested in influencing that When I was a child my parents used to punish me for my bad actions in their own way: I often had the prohibition of reading for a week. Of course I wasn't so nerd at that time and together with reading there could be no tv, no bmx rides with friends, no late night awake and all sorts of 'normal' don'ts.
But the worst one was definitely the 'no reading week'. Later in my teenage years, I remember how my mum was very glad about my reading activity, but not particularly interested in influencing that favourite pastime of mine with her tips. As far as I remember the only exception was 'Narcissus and Goldmund'. 'Mum, I read 'Candide'. How nice it was!' 'Good for you.
But you should rather read Narcissus and Goldmund'. 'Mum, 'The Buddenbrooks' is very interesting. What a surprise!' Yet, you would appreciate more 'Narcissus and Goldmund'. 'Mum, I have to admit it: 'Rosshalde' is kind of interesting'. But that's nothing compared to 'Narcissus and Goldmund': you might read it!' 'Mum, this 'Elective affinities' is a masterpiece of romanticism'.
'I know, but why don't you read 'Narcissus and Goldmund?' You must do it!'
Ok, I resisted for many years. When I was younger I never liked when people were forcing me to read anything. At school, in family. Then came my late twenties and I finally capitulated: I took 'Narcissus and Goldmund' in my hands. Albeit the awful, terrifying front cover graphic chosen by the Italian editor (think about the name 'Hesse' wrote in the same style, way and colours of the notorious 'Esso' logo on a grey background.) I decided to leaf through the book pages. I was really surprised. After managing to win over the first 'philosophical' part of the novel, that I found a bit too slow, I discovered a surprisingly libertine book.
Not that bad, of course, but exactly the opposite I would have expected as a tip from my mum. Eventually 'Narcissus and Goldmund' was an involving reading. Although I think that sometimes Hesse stumbles on the thin line between allegory and parody, this book worths a reading. I like the historical-yet-undetermined contest of the book even if the Goldmund character doesn't look that realistic to me. The way Goldmund walks around the world is very 'Candidesque' and picaresque and I do like this sort of mood. At the same time, Herman Hesse is more accurate and, in my opinion, does a better job in picturing Narcissus, who at least behaves as a man in his adulthood rather than a whimsical, naive boy as Goldmund stays for the whole book without having a real evolution despite all the life (and sexual) experiences he had. I know this won't be appreciated by those who consider this book formative, but the same comeback of Goldmund to the monastery where he spent his earlier pious years looks more like a defeat than as an inner development of him.
Now I just wonder if my mum wished to make a Narcissus or a Goldmund out of me. Frankly I'm a bit scared to ask her. Novel Entertainment?
What the author meant by this writing? Well, like any true art- that depends on the audience. I can go into all the philosophical existential yakkity yak that a lot of other people might get from Narcissus and Goldmund, but instead I'm gonna give you the nuts and bolts (ie pared down yakkity yak) of what I saw in it.
Goldmund is a born artist with a innate bent toward the agony and bliss of wanting to eat life- not just watch it parade on by Philosophical? Novel Entertainment? What the author meant by this writing? Well, like any true art- that depends on the audience.
Hermann Hesse Narciso E Boccadoro
I can go into all the philosophical existential yakkity yak that a lot of other people might get from Narcissus and Goldmund, but instead I'm gonna give you the nuts and bolts (ie pared down yakkity yak) of what I saw in it. Goldmund is a born artist with a innate bent toward the agony and bliss of wanting to eat life- not just watch it parade on by through a view from a window.
Narcissus is his opposite. He is the thinker, the one who excises feelings and exalts logic and the mind above all else. But this book isn't about two people, it's about one. You, the reader. Narcissus and Goldmund are an allegory of the dichotomy of man, the struggle of balancing and preferring one aspect of who you are to another, because- Dear God, are we complex.
One part longs to experience life and run at it full tilt, but the logical part says a life like that is reckless and cannot be sustained. Narcissus always loved Goldmund, more than that- admired his young friend's natural beauty and talents, despite the fact he was his polar opposite- and that kept him on stable ground. It took a lifetime of wandering for Goldmund to come to the same conclusion about Narcissus- unfortunately he only found stability at the very end. Some might think the ending for Goldmund one of disappointment- but really, only one could survive in this tale of a search for inner peace.
Truly it could only be elder, settled wisdom who would survive. Just like Narcissus, for one to find that kind of peace, you must reconcile every part of yourselves and integrate them into the whole- accepted, just as they are. Too many never get that. As one who often struggled in the past with this exact same duality- I thoroughly enjoyed this novel- not only did it startle my Narcissus with its alarming insight it appeased the passionate Goldmund in me with it's bawdiness at times.:P It's books like these that make me glad I'm a reader. If you have a penchant for poetic language, a love for new experiences, and a sensitivity to life's struggles, you will find hope and deep beauty in this story. I recommend finding a place of solitude and spiritual transcendence before delving into this as you will inevitably flip back to the beginning once finished and have to read it again. “If I know what love is, it is because of you.
It is not our purpose to become each other; it is to recognize each other, to learn to see the other and honor If you have a penchant for poetic language, a love for new experiences, and a sensitivity to life's struggles, you will find hope and deep beauty in this story. I recommend finding a place of solitude and spiritual transcendence before delving into this as you will inevitably flip back to the beginning once finished and have to read it again. “If I know what love is, it is because of you. It is not our purpose to become each other; it is to recognize each other, to learn to see the other and honor him for what he is: each the other's opposite and complement. We fear death, we shudder at life's instability, we grieve to see the flowers wilt again and again, and the leaves fall, and in our hearts we know that we, too, are transitory and will soon disappear.
When artists create pictures and thinkers search for laws and formulate thoughts, it is in order to salvage something from the great dance of death, to make something that lasts longer than we do. All existence seemed to be based on duality, on contrast. Either one was a man or one was a woman, either a wanderer or sedentary burgher, either a thinking person or a feeling person-no one could breathe in at the same time as he breathed out, be a man as well as a woman, experience freedom as well as order, combine instinct and mind.
One always had to pay for one with the loss of the other, and one thing was always just as important and desirable as the other. How mysterious this life was, how deep and muddy its waters ran, yet how clear and noble what emerged from them.”. The book is spectacular and extremely thought provoking. Out of all, probably the following paragraph left the adequate impression. “All existence seemed to be based on duality, on contrast. Either one was a man or one was a woman, either a wanderer or a sedentary burgher, either a thinking person or a feeling person – no one could breathe in at the same time as he breathed out, be a man as well as a woman, experience freedom as well as order, combine instinct and mind.
One always had to pay for The book is spectacular and extremely thought provoking. Out of all, probably the following paragraph left the adequate impression. “All existence seemed to be based on duality, on contrast. Either one was a man or one was a woman, either a wanderer or a sedentary burgher, either a thinking person or a feeling person – no one could breathe in at the same time as he breathed out, be a man as well as a woman, experience freedom as well as order, combine instinct and mind. One always had to pay for the one with the loss of the other, and one thing was always just as important and desirable as the other.” Is it then the futile attempt to balance between the two inner clashes, being the most difficult of all professions, a hypocrisy to an incomplete life? Goldmund could not fit into the Mariabronn Monastery anymore than a square peg could fit into a round hole and soon left the cloister for the vagrant life.
By sleeping in the woods, killing Viktor the thief, meeting the plague, studying under Meister Niklaus and romancing with Lydia and Julie, Lene and Agnes, he explored the sensual life as an artist. When Agnes rejected the old man that he was, he returned to the monastery to meet his friend and mentor Narziss before leaving the world. Calw, Ge Goldmund could not fit into the Mariabronn Monastery anymore than a square peg could fit into a round hole and soon left the cloister for the vagrant life.
By sleeping in the woods, killing Viktor the thief, meeting the plague, studying under Meister Niklaus and romancing with Lydia and Julie, Lene and Agnes, he explored the sensual life as an artist. When Agnes rejected the old man that he was, he returned to the monastery to meet his friend and mentor Narziss before leaving the world. Calw, Germany On the other hand, at home in Mariabronn with the chestnut tree and knowing that his way differs from that of Goldmund, Narziss, isolated from the flesh’s pleasure and pain, lived out the monastic life, praying, meditating, searching for enlightenment through intellectual and ascetic disciplines. The way of the mystic was for Narziss as much as the way of the artist was for Goldmund. Hermann Hesse Hermann Hesse, throughout his life, sought Goldmund’s artistic way-the emotional, prodigal, active, and sensual path-but ended up with Narziss’s mystical way-the intellectual, disciplined, contemplative, and ascetic path. This beautifully written philosophical novel, that like most of Hesse’s work explores the theme of individual search for self-realization, was a genuine pleasure to read as well as to reflect on later on. It is one of those books that stays with you.
I read it ages ago, but I can remember it without making any mental effort whatsoever. It stayed in my heart and in my mind. The language used is fairly simple, but beautiful nevertheless and powerful in the messages it delivers.
The story is quite This beautifully written philosophical novel, that like most of Hesse’s work explores the theme of individual search for self-realization, was a genuine pleasure to read as well as to reflect on later on. It is one of those books that stays with you. I read it ages ago, but I can remember it without making any mental effort whatsoever. It stayed in my heart and in my mind. The language used is fairly simple, but beautiful nevertheless and powerful in the messages it delivers. The story is quite easy to follow, which is logical because it is focused mostly on one character.
As the novel has to do with his own personal search for beauty, it could be said that the story of his life (and all the events that take place) isn’t the focus of this novel. I mean there is a story to follow, as philosophical as it may be, this novel is never a mere collection of meditations and essays. There is the main character whose life story we shall learn and there are also other characters that matter, that aren’t only symbols, yet it is clear from the start that the story of the protagonist’s life isn’t the only thing that matters in this novel, that there is some deeper message to be found.
The novel is less focused on events as than on mediating about the meaning of live itself. It is about spiritualty? That depends on how you see it, how you define spirituality, this is not a book that will feed you any dogma or give you a set of rules to live. Narcissus and Goldmund is a novel that doesn’t show you the meaning of life, for such a thing is hardly possibile, but what does this novel do is show you what such a search looks like.
It is about searching for meaning. We are all trying to make sense of this world we live it. We do it in our own different ways, for we’re all endowed with different temperaments and characters. Hence, there are no easy answers. I see this book as a meditation on the beauty and the power of Art.
Any flaws that appear in the narrative therefore I find to be irrelevant. I think that I didn’t even experience Narcissus and Goldmund as a typical narrative.
Lower Case Switcher Serial Numbers. Convert Lower Case Switcher trail version to full software. Lower Case Switcher v1.42 serial numbers, cracks and keygens are available here. We have the largest crack, keygen and serial number data base. New Evidence In Case of Missing Disney Cruise Line Crew Member. Rebecca Coriam was a cheerful and upbeat young woman with a. 20,000,000 Visitors and counting - fix my hit counter and earn credit$: We salute our Nation’s military, past and present. IN WONDERFUL ALBANY, NY, USA. Lower case switcher.
It's more philosophical in nature, more a novel of ideas, more like reading a religious text than anything else, and that is the beauty of it. Or at least that is what I have found in it. What a profound novel it really is! I loved the contrast between the two main characters, Narcissus and Goldmund and the true friendship that exists between them. That was my favourite part of the book and I think it adds a lot of depth to the writing as a whole. The writer managed to create a wonderful character to contrast our protagonist. The friendship he described was very touching, but never sentimental.
It is true emotional, pure and beautiful. I believe that such a friendship is a very rare thing. Perhaps what I liked most about this book is how it acknowledges the fundamental differences that can and often do exist between two people.
So much more refreshing (and closer to truth) than saying we're all alike. Just observing that delicate friendships that oddly sometimes exist between the people who see the world in completely different way somehow felt enriching. It made me rethink great deal of things. Not all differences are differences and not all the similarities, one could say. However, one might mean different things by saying this. The meaning of words is harder to pin down than we think.
We're so used to thinking in a certain way, most of us anyway, that we fail to understand that there is always something more, something behind our words that we cannot explain. This novel did a wonderful job of capturing that and I love it for it. Take for example this friendship between Narcissus and Goldmund. From a worldly perspective, these two man have nothing in common and yet on some higher level they feel a deep connection, the kind that most people never experience.and yet the similarity between them is as important as the difference is.
If I would care to, I could find a number of illogical things in this novel (unrealistic stories or plot developments, characterization of minor characters etc), small imperfections and weak points. However, I don’t want to. There is a reason why I don’t feel like doing it. The point is that this novel is a great piece of writing. I don't care to even notice those small flaws and the reason why I don't care to do so is because this is a work of art.
Being what it is, in one way I really do feel that is perfect as it is. You don't dissect a work of art. This is a work of art, of that I’m absolutely sure.
Perhaps this book is interesting as an example of the dichotomization of body/mind, angel/whore, ascete/wayfarer. Put the dicktalk aside (which is no small task here) and you still have an enormous vine from which to swing back and forth from pole to pole. At best woman is subject here, at worst she so thoroughly blends into the background she's invisible.
More than bleak considering this is a meditation on the roles of the artist and thinker (and never the twain shall meet mind you) in a modern Perhaps this book is interesting as an example of the dichotomization of body/mind, angel/whore, ascete/wayfarer. Put the dicktalk aside (which is no small task here) and you still have an enormous vine from which to swing back and forth from pole to pole. At best woman is subject here, at worst she so thoroughly blends into the background she's invisible.
More than bleak considering this is a meditation on the roles of the artist and thinker (and never the twain shall meet mind you) in a modern world. While i suppose Hesse was trying to justify the new free-thinking, free-loving, long hair wearing male artist of the twentieth century, he really does less to exhort new modes of being and more towards the reinforcement of woman-loathing Cartesian dualism. She is both giver and taker away and yet completely and utterly powerless as an entity free of him, the center; she has no option but to be both the beginning and end of him. Intellect and Passion 17 July 2015 This is the first Hesse book that I have read and I must thank my book club for selecting it for the June book. I have to say that I wasn't really sure what to expect – the only other German author that I had read that happened to be a contemporary of Hesse was Gunter Grass and his play was much more political in scope.
However, with books like sitting on my shelf, I probably shouldn't be to surprised that Hesse tends Intellect and Passion 17 July 2015 This is the first Hesse book that I have read and I must thank my book club for selecting it for the June book. I have to say that I wasn't really sure what to expect – the only other German author that I had read that happened to be a contemporary of Hesse was Gunter Grass and his play was much more political in scope. However, with books like sitting on my shelf, I probably shouldn't be to surprised that Hesse tends to take a much more spiritual slant than does Grass. Anyway, the story is about this young boy, Goldmund, who is dropped off at a monastery by his father and meets the monk Narcissus. Goldmund, as it turned out, never knew his mother (apparently she was a prostitute) so never experienced the nurture that having a mother brings. As such he falls in love with Narcissus, but is rebuffed by him, and Narcissus ends up locking himself away in a room to meditate. Goldmund, meanwhile, goes for a walk in the country and encounters a gypsy woman who then makes love to him and as such he discovers the beauty of sex.
Mistaking sex for love he decides to leave the monastery and to spend his time with this gypsy girl, however when he returns she tells him that she is married and must return to her husband. So instead of returning to the monastery he decides to wander the land where he sleeps with many, many women and comes to understand himself as an artist. Sex As I said, I wasn't really sure what I was going to expect from the novel and when it became clear that Goldmund was pretty much wandering around medieval Germany having heaps and heaps of sex I was sort of wandering whether this was little more than soft porn, or whether Hesse had an influence on. In fact the one thing that kept on coming to mind was how would a feminist take this book.
Basically we have this guy who seems to have a huge amount of sex-appeal to the point that women simply want to rip off their clothes and basically (pardon the French) screw his brains out. In a way it seemed to be little more that what I got from. However, the more I think about it the more I realise that this is not necessarily the case.
Sure, the first girl he encounters wants to have sex with him, but at the time he was an innocent young man who had basically been tempted by a gypsy. As we progress through the novel we come to see that the women aren't necessarily all throwing themselves at him and that he must seduce them. This is the case in the knight's castle where he has to seduce Lydia, as well as the concubine at the end of the book. Also, not every girl is caught by his charms. Firstly, in the knight's castle, when Julia decides to climb into bed with him, while Lydia is also there, you are (or at least I was) expecting there to be a threesome, and just as it is about the begin Lydia storms out and tells her father (resulting in some bad things happening).
Also, when he encounters the Jewish girl, she soundly rebukes him. I probably should also mention that at the end of the book, when he discovers that his favourite concubine has returned, when he encounters her she is no longer interested in him.
The other thing that is interesting is that Goldmund isn't actually a dashing young man – he is poor and homeless, much like this guy: Though we must remember that this is the medieval world as opposed to the modern world. Still, he is poor and he is wandering from town to town with no purpose and no goal.
As for the girls that he ends up sleeping with, they aren't princesses, they are peasant girls, thought probably not like this one because she is somewhat idealised: Purpose The interesting thing about Goldmund is that he has no purpose in lif, and this is something that keeps on coming back to us. He is a wanderer, a vagrant, with no goal and no desire behind his immediate pleasure. This is something that he is confronted with at the beginning of the book since Narcissus has a goal but Goldmund doesn't.
In a way the journey that he takes is a journey in search of himself and in search of goal. He does find one a couple of times, but once he has succeeded in this goal he is left, once again, to wander the world in search of meaning. In fact, even at the end of the book when he goes on his final, fateful, journey, it is clear that there is no real over arching goal to his life. Once he has completed his immediate goal he is left to wander a meaningless existence until he meets his fate. In many ways this seems to be a reflection of our modern world. As a young person I had a goal, and that was to complete university. Once I had achieved that goal I needed a new one, and that was to get a job.
Yet with many of us once we have that job that is all life becomes. Getting up early, going to the office, working, and then going home (in a way it seems that we live the existance that Bill Murray did in Groundhog Day).
Okay, many of us get married, but that is another chain that binds us to a meaningless existence of work, sleep, work, weekend, and the occasional holidays (if we are lucky enough to get that). If we have to goal, once we hit the world of the worker these goals suddenly become out of reach. In a way many of our goals are meaningless, and simply, like Goldmund, become a repetitive search for fleeting pleasure. However, what he comes to realise is that the fleeting pleasure is meaningless because what is more important is to leave a legacy. Many of us get to that point where we end up becoming little more than a shadowy existence – we are born, we live, and then we die. In the grand scheme of things our existence is little more than dust that quickly blows away into forgetfulness.
Sure, there are some who have left a lasting impact, but how many of the wealthy elite of 19th Century England are still remembered today? Even more, who can name the CEO's of the major corporations back in the 60s, the 70s, or even the 80s. Sure, these people were rich and lived luxurious lives, but in the end they have been forgotten. In fact, who is even going to remember the name of the CEO of the Ford Motor Company ten years from now? Art Goldmund's legacy turned out to be art, and Hesse's idea here is interesting in that he suggests that the work of the artist comes out of the artist's passion. The interesting thing about these two characters (and I will get to Narcissus shortly) is that neither of them are incredibly wealthy, but both of them left behind a legacy, or at least Goldmund did. In a way wealth isn't necessarily something that will end up creating a name for yourself, and in fact if we consider many of the people that did leave behind a legacy, none of them are particularly wealthy.
Take for instance the guy who painted this picture: We have all heard of Van Gogh, and many of us think that he was a brilliant artist, however not many people at the time he painted this painting thought all that much of him. In fact he wasn't all that wealthy either. Or consider this guy: Sure, he wrote some incredibly popular plays and novels, such as The Importance of Being Ernest and but he died without a cent to his name.
Also, despite what you believe, there is also this guy: who is apparently one of the most recognisable figures in Western Culture (though according Ronald McDonald is much more recognisable, but that is beside the point) was executed of blasphemy and basically grew up as a peasant and spent the last three years of his life wandering around ancient Palestine as an itinerant preacher. I guess my point is, and the idea that came out of this novel, is that wealth doesn't necessarily leave a legacy, and in fact many of the wealthy people of times past are little more than footnotes in history (if that) yet many of the people who at the time were considered to be hopeless losers, never capable of amounting to anything, have left an enduring legacy.
Narcissus One of the odd things about this book is the character of Narcissus. The name comes from an about this really beautiful dude who didn't realise that his was beautiful, but was then tricked into looking into a pond and ended up dying because he could not stop looking at the beautiful image in the pond. Hesse's Narcissus didn't come across like that. Rather, to me, he was one of those dry intellectuals that locks himself in his ivory tower contemplating the meaning of life. I guess the beginning of the book painted him as such when he withdrew from Goldmund simply because he could not handle the fact that Goldmund loved him.
However it wasn't until the end, when Goldmund returns from his travels, and then leaves again, that he realises how much he admired the guy. The suggestion is that Hesse is painting the picture of the passionate artist and the souless intellectual and how while both of them seem to be completely the opposite but in many ways are the same. I guess it isn't something that I really can equate to though, since after finishing this book, in a way I am both Goldmund and Narcissus – you could say a passionate intellectual. Shamefully, I only started reading this because I had a competition that took it as a subject. I was told I had to read this in order to compete. It was already on my reading list, I already loved Hesse, so I knew I was in for a treat.
Surprise surprise, the competition had no connection to the book whatsoever. The text in there was by Miller and in no way related to this. Nonetheless, let's get back to the review. It's one of my favorite books of 2013.
About that - I will post a list of them an Shamefully, I only started reading this because I had a competition that took it as a subject. I was told I had to read this in order to compete. It was already on my reading list, I already loved Hesse, so I knew I was in for a treat. Surprise surprise, the competition had no connection to the book whatsoever. The text in there was by Miller and in no way related to this. Nonetheless, let's get back to the review.
It's one of my favorite books of 2013. About that - I will post a list of them and some details on my blog, which you can acces here. For the book, now. Flawless writing, perfect character building, analytical to the bone, honest to human emotions, chilling in its truth. Just perfect.
One of those works you don't take for granted because you know for sure they meant work and dedication and were written in virtue of experience and for only one purpose: unveiling the true nature of things. I don't even want to get into details because I fear I'll spoil the experience for anyone who's interested out there. Hesse delivers, as he usually does, a piece that is full of force and thought. His writing is at times impossible to follow and at times easily understood.
One of the few writers that I know to use this technique, he combines the 'stream of counciousness' technique with rapid firing of dialogues or vivid descriptions. Written in the third person and still very personal, it leaves this feeling of permanent presence in his character's minds and it's stunning how at times he seems to see so well into the human mind and descipher mysteries that others were afraid to. Capable of both fluid and hard writing, Hesse gives off the feeling of fullness. His books are complete. That is a wonderful ability for a writer. Take this book in, please, if you read it. Don't rush through the pages.
Understand it and let it understand you. This deserves a round of applause and be sure to give it that at the end. I see this book as a meditation on the beauty and the power of Art. Any flaws that appear in the narrative therefore I find to be irrelevant. I think that I don't even experience Narcissus and Goldmund as a novel. It's more philosophical in nature, more a novel of ideas, more like reading a religious text than anything else, and that is the beauty of it.
Or at least that is what I have found in it. I loved the contrast between the two main characters, Narcissus and Goldmund and the true friend I see this book as a meditation on the beauty and the power of Art. Any flaws that appear in the narrative therefore I find to be irrelevant. I think that I don't even experience Narcissus and Goldmund as a novel. It's more philosophical in nature, more a novel of ideas, more like reading a religious text than anything else, and that is the beauty of it. Or at least that is what I have found in it. I loved the contrast between the two main characters, Narcissus and Goldmund and the true friendship that exist between them.
I believe that such a friendship is a very rare thing. Perhaps what I liked most about this book is how it acknowledges the fundamental differences that can and often do exist between two people. So much more refreshing (and closer to truth) than saying we're all alike. Observing that delicate friendships that oddly sometimes exist between the people who see the world in completely different way somehow feels enriching.
Not all differences are differences and not all the similarities similarities, one could say. However, one might mean different things by saying this. The meaning of words is harder to pin down than we think. We're so used to thinking in a certain way, most of us anyway, that we fail to understand that there is always something more, something behind our words that we cannot explain.
From a worldly perspective, these two man have nothing in common and yet on some higher level they feel a deep connection, the kind that most people never experience.and yet the similarity between them is as important as the difference is. Perhaps I'm not making any sense.Anyway, I guess that generally it could be said that there was plenty to think about while reading this novel.
If I would cared to, I could find many illogical parts in this novel(unrealistic stories or plot developments, characterization of minor characters etc), many imperfections and weak points. However, the point is that I don't care to do so.and the reason why I don't care to is because this is a work of art.and because I really do feel that is perfect as it is.
You don't dissect a work of art. Hermann Hesse was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. His best known works include Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game (also known as Magister Ludi) which explore an individual's search for spirituality outside society. In his time, Hesse was a popular and influential author in the German-speaking world; worldwide fame only ca Hermann Hesse was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter.
In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. His best known works include Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game (also known as Magister Ludi) which explore an individual's search for spirituality outside society. In his time, Hesse was a popular and influential author in the German-speaking world; worldwide fame only came later. Hesse's first great novel, 'Peter Camenzind', was received enthusiastically by young Germans desiring a different and more 'natural' way of life at the time of great economic and technological progress in the country. Throughout Germany, many schools are named after him.
In 1964, the Calwer Hermann-Hesse-Preis was founded, which is awarded every two years, alternately to a German-language literary journal or to the translator of Hesse's work to a foreign language. There is also a Hermann Hesse prize associated with the city of Karlsruhe,Germany.
From United Kingdom to U.S.A. About this Item: Mondadori, 2001. Condition: Good. Neat dedication on the opening page. Tan to the page edges. Good condition is defined as: a copy that has been read but remains in clean condition.
All of the pages are intact and the cover is intact and the spine may show signs of wear. The book may have minor markings which are not specifically mentioned. Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. Seller Inventory # mon 4.
Comments are closed.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |