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Summary: A wealth of enlightenment for those with eyes to see.
Review: For those who don't, a dull and pointless novel. But then, all of life is that way until youu start to wake up. PS: Just a note about writing reviews - the rating is for the book, not the characters in it. Just because you don't like an organization or individual in the book doesn't mean that the book deserves a lower rating.
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Summary: A reader with Jacobus' sentiments
Review: Herman Hesse is apparently unknowingly genuinely strongly hierarchical-minded . His Glass Bead Game and the whole Order is much too strong on the arts and history and culture side . I fail to see the amt of significance many of the Order place on writing "A Look/Study/View of the Corruption/Assimilation/Contrast of/between Semetic/Roman/BrazilianFolk Stuff With Some Other Stuff" Throughout ,I was thinking what actually was the Order for , they don't really try to contribute actively to the world . Why can't they do what they do married and still within the Order ? Why don't they try to share their apreciation of music and stuff with the public . Use their mathematics for real-world problem-solving . And interestingly ,I don't think there was actually any paintings/sculptures/etc type of art that the Order do at all . Why is the world apparently so constipated in politics and literature and culture ?And most of all , Why didn't Joseph just pack his bags and leave while he was arguing with Plinios back then ? Afterall he had acknowledge that his opponent was not without merit , it was just that mental restraint had to be exercised to prevent degeneration of the human race . But I don't see the Order doing much restraining . It is just self-absorbed in their own pursuit of self-gratification , personal happiness and self-delusioned eliteness .Even Joseph does it to a certain extent . It is just so deep in his psyche that he isn't aware of it .When he looks at other people , he doesn't feel superior , but the thing is , he looks Down . Not high-and-mightily Down , but rather a good-king-in-disguise-among-his-people Down .I suppose there is probably a generation gap between Hesse and me . In which case the mentality of those times depresses me with their notions of ideals and human intelligence . It's a good thing we have Father Jacobus to provide some common sense . Alternately , Hesse may be demonstrating how great men may be ensnared by the restrictions and follies of high society ,whereas Jacobus is the common sense of the practical common person .
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Summary: Awaken in this World of Crystal Thought
Review: With biblical simplicity, Hesse tracks the awakening of an intelligent man constrained by society. The book pits yin against yang: reason against passion; social responsibility against individual needs; abstract against concrete; past against future. Hesse's hero lives an inspiring life and dies a fitting death. Poems and three short stories add to the beauty and wisdom of the work. This book will change your life and as Joseph Knecht awakens, so will you.
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Summary: Just a short message!
Review: Sorry, my English is not as good as my German! After having reviewed some of the comments I get the feeling that some American friends are used to read short and simple sentences! German language is famous for the complicated structure and long sentences. It is wonderful to read this book in German esp. because of the use of language. I can imagine that the English translation could never reflect this beauty.
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Summary: An amazing piece of literature, worthy of the acclaim.
Review: I read this book when I was sixteen, and it has truly affected my life since. There's no denying that it is long and not much physical action takes place, but it is definitely worth the time and effort. Hesse's subtlety is simply wonderful. He resists the need to tell the reader everything, and leaves concepts and ideas (like the Glass Bead Game itself) to the reader's imagination. The characters are wonderfully drawn, and by the end (which in itself is one of the most amazing things I've ever read) the reader is so completely involved with Joseph and his journey that one simply wants to be able to read it again for the first time.
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Summary: his best
Review: Hesse has never expressed himself so completely as in this book. It is his masterpiece--one of the few genuinely philosophical novels ever written--though it is a much more difficult read than any of his other books. I especially liked the ending.
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Summary: Fascinating glimpse of "utopia". A must-read poem in it:
Review: I read MAGISTER LUDI many years ago after I had been first introduced to Hesse by the short novel DEMIAN. I found my interest in this book was captured by the "Posthumous Writings" of the main character, Joseph Knecht. I found "The Rainmaker" segment fascinating. It is the first of three short stories about what Knecht might have been in other times and places. The Rainmaker was sensitive to nature, and could deliver rain when it was most needed...except once. At which point he was sacrificed and his heir, whom he had prepared, took over. Rilke once described a poet as a man who must understand "the gestures with which the flowers open." The Rainmaker did. But top billing in my book is the one page poem STEPS. (My translation is by Mervyn Savill, a most superior one, in my opinion.) I have often described it to my friends as "the best poem in the English language." Do I dare type it out in full? STEPS, by Herman Hesse As every blossom fades and all youth sinks/ into old age, so every life's design,/ each flower of wisdom, every good, attains/ its prime and cannot last for ever./ At life's each call the heart must be prepared/ to take its leave and to commence afresh,/ courageously and with no hint of grief/ submit itself to other, newer ties./ A magic dwells in each beginning and/ protecting us it tells us how to live./ High-purposed we must traverse realm on realm,/ cleaving to none as to a home. The world/ of spirit wishes not to fetter us/ but raise us higher, further, step by step./ Scarce in some safe accustomed sphere of life/ have we established house, than we grow lax;/ he only who is ready to inspan/ and journey forth can throw old habits off./ Maybe death's hour too will send us out/ new-born toward undreamed-of lands, maybe/ life's call to us will never find an end.../ Courage, my heart, take leave and fare thee well! This poem was written by Knecht in his student days, and has become my most prized poem. Another one is fascinating to me, also, titled A DREAM. It describes the flashes of insight that come to us out of nowhere...and disappear just as quickly. The translator deserves special mention with his" "Scare in some safe, accustomed sphere of life have we established house..." Lovely alliteration, to my ear. Master philosophical novel, truly meaningful poetry. Thank you, Herman Hesse!
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Summary: Perhaps meaningful, but tedious
Review: Despite the importance and timelessness of Hesse's theme, I found the work tedious, mostly on the basis of his protagonist: essentially a bloodless eunich (or lacking virility, as a kinder mind put it). His answer to Nietzsche: a kindler, gentler Ubermensch is unfortunately just not very interesting. Nevertheless, I finished the work, perhaps because I was awaiting the legendary repudiation of Hesse's essential philosophy, which occurs, albeit rather weakly. The most moving concept in the novel, namely the Glass Bead Game itself, is disappointingly underdeveloped. Sure, accuse me of philistinism, but I have a sneaking suspicion that many other readers are similarly affected by Hesse's tedious style and milquetoast protagonist.
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Summary: Ahh... A breath of fresh air for the philosophical reader.
Review: Written by the magically creative author of Siddhartha, the Journey to the East, et alia, it is the epitome of classical philosophical literature. Dealing with a man who comes to realize that all things must pass, the book tells a story of what happens when a fervent believer of one system is exposed to other systems and draws conclusions. The Glass Bead Game, a game in which players draw upon the cultures of the world, serves as backdrop for a moving and well-told story. True, it is a bit wordy and long, but it's a good book to bring along on a vacation to read on the beach at sundown...
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Summary: A witty, indulgently intellectual masterpiece. 5 stars!
Review: The book which won Hesse the Nobel Prize for Literature. It is an unabashed romp through Hesse's intellectual utopia. An almost tongue-in-cheek vault into the stratosphere of scientific and intellectual idealism. At once futuristic and historical. Once I began reading it I was forcibly dragged to the end; it was impossible to put down.
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