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Translated from the German by Leila Vennewitz
Narcissus is a teacher at Mariabronn, a monastery in medieval
Germany, and Goldmund his favourite pupil. While Narcissus
remains detached from the world in prayer and meditation,
Goldmund runs away from the monstery in pursuit of love. Thereafter
he lives a picaresque wanderer’s life, his amatory adventures
resulting in pain as well as ecstasy. His eventual reunion
with Narcissus brings into focus the diversity between artist
and thinker, Dionysian and Apollonian.
This new edition features a
foreword from the musician and artist Graham Coxon:
'The clean simplicity of Hesse’s
writing offers a vast space in which to push your weightless
mind, and, although
you can see the universe between the lines, he never forces
you to venture too deeply but rather leaves it entirely up
to you as to how far in you might like to travel. This is
not just a story. This book is a gentle arm around the shoulder.'
‘A poetic novel unique in its fascination’ —
Thomas Mann
‘One of his masterpieces . . . without doubt a great
novel’ — Observer
‘His greatest novel’ — New York Times
‘This extremely beautiful novel has a ripeness and
wisdom all too rare in modern literature’ — Daily
Telegraph
Counted among the leading thinkers of the twentieth
century, HERMANN HESSE was born in 1877. Rebelling against
a stern monastic education, he worked as a locksmith
and a
bookseller before embarking on a 65-year writing career.
Having travelled as far as India, he settled in Switzerland
in 1911
in opposition to German militarism. Awarded the Nobel
Prize in 1946, he died in 1963 aged eighty-five. |
