German literature

The Glass Bead Game

“Truth is lived, not taught.” Introduction The Glass Bead Game (also known as Magister Ludi) is Hermann Hesse’s final and most ambitious novel. Set in a futuristic society […]

German literature

Demian

“I wanted only to try to live in accord with the promptings which came from my true self. Why was that so very difficult?” Chapter 1: Two Worlds […]

German literature

Narcissus and Goldmund

“You are an artist, and I am a thinker. You sleep at the mother’s breast; I wake in the desert.” Part One: The Monastery Narcissus, a disciplined and […]

German literature

Siddhartha

“Wisdom cannot be imparted. Wisdom that a wise man attempts to impart always sounds like foolishness to someone else… Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom.” Part One: […]

German literature

Steppenwolf

“For what I always hated and detested and cursed above all things was this contentment, this healthiness and comfort, this carefully preserved optimism of the middle classes, this […]