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Summary: a mind-blowing conclusion to Hesse's fiction-writing career
Review: This book took Hesse ten years to write, and largely because it turned out so differently from what he planned. His heroes having pursued the ideal spiritual-imaginative kingdom throughout his novels, one, Joseph Knecht, finally finds it in the futuristic Castalia--which he is forced to relinquish for reasons of higher calling. Absolutely awesome. Don't miss Knecht's soliloquy on "cheerful serenity."
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Summary: The novel that changed my life
Review: I recently finished reading The Glass Bead Game for the second time, the first being when I began college in 1996. The first reading evoked an "awakening" experience, precisely as described -- this is not a coincidence -- in The Glass Bead Game and Hesse's autobiographical writings: my perception of the world, myself, and existence in general was forever altered. It was, to be sure, a mystical experience -- and not of the conventional variety. I expected my second reading, as with most books, to be less compelling, less significant. I also expected to discover aspects of the book that I disliked -- both in style and content. This, however, was not the case. The second read was equally as powerful; even after four years I can still feel the resonance of my first awakening experience. This novel has become, in a sense, my existential guide -- the only truly reliable source of wisdom that I have. Who else besides Hesse could bring together -- qua "rapprochement" -- the poles of modernism and, as I interpret it, the beginnings of postmodern thought? Like Hesse, Nietzsche is my shadow and Modernism my ideal -- together they form something wonderful.
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Summary: The object of the game...
Review: ...is the object of the game and we all are Magister Ludis one time or another. This is the precursor to Umberto Eco's "Foucault's Pendulum" and the more recent "Cryptonomicron". Only for those who are patient with themselves...
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Summary: Under the mountains of the moon
Review: This is Hesses testament and his most complex book. It took me 6 years to manage to read it, and I tried many times. If you want to read it you have to be prepared to put in an effort, if not, you should read his other books before you decide if it is worth it. Start with Demian, before Sidharta or the Steppenwolf (which is filmed and quite well also with Max von Sydow as Henry Haller (HH!)).If you want to get a feeling of the Glas Bead Game, read the introduction and then skip to the last part; the short stories which are excellent. If you like this boook, you will probably also like Zen and the art of Motorcycle maintainance by Pirsig, and you are probably also addicted to works of writers like Dostojevsky or Gunter Grass or Stefan Zweig? This is not a easy read and one needs to have reached a place in life to be able to appriciate it (which does not necessary have any thing to do with age). Therefor be patient and let it lay waiting for you until you are ready for it. I pity for those of you who have to read it to take some class, but I pity still more for those who give it for someone to read in class. I presume they feel that their classe is only for those who are prepared for this kind of books! One of the best and most complicated books I have read. Enjoy it at some stage of your life.
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Summary: Good does come of it
Review: This is possibly the best novel of the 20th century, in my opinion. It is very subtle and very impressive in its overall scope and depth. There seem to be a number of reviewers here who started the book, were somewhat distraught by the implied attitude of the narrator (not to mention the perceived "slowness" of the first few hundred pages), and so gave up reading it. My advice to these people is to finish the book, and by the end you should hopefully understand what Hesse was going for here. It is far more intricate than most of his other works, but it is worth finishing. Hesse explores almost every aspect of our existence and ends up summarizing an ontology that is an appropriate finale for his literary career.
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Summary: it's all thought
Review: Alright, I just finished reading this mammoth novel a few moments ago, except for the short stories at the end. The AP english class at my school had to read it last year and this year there were extra copies so I grabbed one thinking alright this might be fun. Well, I'll admit, I struggled with it. And I'm a pretty avid reader but I had to put it down and read other things in between. In the end though, it's remarkable. When Mann said this was a "treasure of purest thought" he hit the mark. The next to last chapter "The Circular Letter" changed my whole way of looking at this book. Yes, it's dry. And Yes, parts of it may seem boring and too drawn out. But for the reader that toils through it, it's an amazing novel and very deeply thought out. There are times I wanted to burn this book, but now I'm honestly very glad I read it. It's beautiful and more relevant to today's day and age than one might think. In that sense I suppose it's timeless.
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Summary: A Christmas Gift to Change a Life
Review: Hesse is an anomoly among authors in that what he writes is both very beautiful and very true. The philosophical heritage of this book dates back to St. Thomas Aquinas and his discussion of the opposing Aristotelian poles that exert their magnetism on our lives--the pull of the active life (Vita Activa) and the life of contemplation (Vita Contemplativa). This discussion, the centerpiece of this book, is as original and atavistic a trope as can be found. It is a noteworthy characteristic of the topic, however, that it is always fresh and worth of a new evaluation. As Ralph Waldo Emerson instructs us in his 1838 oration to Harvard's Phi Beta Kappa society, "every age must write its own books." Hesse's _Glasperlenspiel_ an evaluation of a great philosophical theme, analysed with great beauty for our age. In the spirit of Christmas, the protagonist's name, Josef Knecht, echoes the spirit of giving. Hesse used the name Knecht ("Servant") in open defiance of Goethe's _Wilhelm Meister_ ("William the Master"). In a season devoted to a spirit of giving, _The Glass Bead Game_ is a work rich in both artistry and ideology. As an addendum I must note that the full force of Hesse's prose is muddled a bit in translation. In translating passages to send to friends, I often found there was no way to express in English the sentiments of Hesse's flowing, heavily punctuated German, beset by a disinclination to use a full stop. The book, however, is mystic (in the Greek sense of being "closed mouthed"); Hesse's meaning is thankfully quite independent of the translation. In a scene that for me defines the book, Knecht crushes a bough between his fingers and struggles to define the smell: "es laesst sich mitteilen, gewiss, aber nicht uebertragen." (It may be said, of course, but not communicated) Hesse's descriptions, at their best, are, to permit the paradox, descriptions of the ineffable.
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Summary: A bit of honesty from a Hessophile
Review: I love many things about this book. The short stories at the end presented as the early writings of the Magister Ludi, the beautiful ending, and particularly Hesse's poetry. Since the day I finished the book, I've said that one can't come to a complete understanding of Hesse without reading it. That being said, however, I have to agree with those who say that Das Glasperlenspiel is ultimately a bloody boring novel. Glorious...yes. Brilliant...yes. Bloated and overlong? Sorry, but yes. One sees fewer high school students reviewing this work (check out the Siddhartha section here), but I suspect many of them would throw this book down after 50 pages...many of their teachers would too, as a matter of fact. By the time Glasperlenspiel was written, Hesse had become a truly poignant philopsophical/psychological figure...but it seems that some of his skill as a storyteller was lost in the process. In the end, I feel that I know something about Hesse's thinking because of this work...but I love him as an author because of Demian and Narciss und Goldmund.
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Summary: Hesse's Best
Review: I have read most of Hesse's other works (I am quite fond of Siddhartha) and really like his novels. I guess I am a little bias. On the other hand, most of his stuff is written quite simplisticly. This is probably the best book I have read. He spent several years on this, his last work, and it shows. I LOVE IT.
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Summary: Inspiring and fulfilling masterpiece.
Review: I've been drawn to Hesse's works since I first read Steppenwolf over 10 years ago in high school. His style of writing speaks deep into the cerebrum and touch upon feelings that are otherwise so elusive that they would prefer to hide in the shadows causing frustration. The Glass Bead Game carries the subjects of Hesse's thoughts further than Steppenwolf, deeper than Siddhartha, and with more subtlety than Narcissus and Goldmund. I found this late work of Hesse very fulfilling and moving.
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