The Journey to the East

Rating:
Summary: An Entertaining Book that is Hard to Pin Down
Review: This allegorical book is made up of equal parts poetry and prose. On the surface it tells a simple tale of a man who starts on a journey with like minded souls in search of a mystical woman named Fatima. Part way through the journey he loses faith in his fellow travelers and their cause. The rest of the book is about the protagonist's attempt to write about his experience, and to discover the true nature of the league in which he had lost faith.

Almost from the beginning the reader is forced to conclude that neither the league itself, nor the attempt to write about it, can be taken literally. Clearly Hesse wants the league of travelers to the east to be seen in a symbolic light. But what is it meant to represent? Given that this is the author of Siddhartha, one might suppose that the league represents a group of individuals in search of eastern mysticism. Yet the book says little or nothing about Buddhism, Hinduism or Islam. The league could also be taken as an allegory for the community of artists, and though there are numerous references in the book to support this point of view, it seems too shallow an interpretation to explain the entire text. For instance, there are clear and repeated references to religion, usually in a Christian context. These references belie a simple interpretation of the book as being about the life of an artist.

The book also spends considerable time wrestling with the idea of whether or not it is appropriate to attempt to use a novel as means of exorcising one's personal demons, or whether such an undertaking is fundamentally selfish. On the surface, it appears that the author of the book denies the value of using writing as a means of working through a personal problem, and yet on one level the text clearly appears to be an attempt by the author to do exactly that. In this case, I am referring to the struggles for freedom by the fictional author of the text HH, and not to Hesse himself. But once again, it is not clear whether we are meant to take HH as Hermann Hesse or as simply an allegorical figure.

Over and over again, the text leads us up to the door of a seemingly clear allegory or metaphor, only to send us back search of a more satisfying interpretation. In writing this review, I have no intention of trying to resolve any of these paradoxes. Rather, I simply want to draw attention to them. The great joy of this book is that it tells an enjoyable tale that can be interpreted in many different ways. These mysteries at the heart of the text make the book more interesting.

There is, however, one important part of the book that is quite easy to understand. Fearful of spoiling the plot, I will simply point out that the most powerful character in the book is a servant. The idea that the humblest character in the book is also the most important has clear Christian overtones. However, seeing this character simply as a Christ figure is again perhaps too simplistic an interpretation. Certainly that is one viable level of meaning in the text, but the character also seems to represent a general endorsement of humility for both spiritual seekers and artists.

Noting some of the other reviews here, I would like to add that reading this book as a commentary on the Rosicrucians is almost certainly much too simplistic an interpretation. The Journey to the East is a poetic work, and should not be read so literally. Secondly, I want to agree with the reviewer who was surprised to find that Hesse's work was not as jejune or adolescent as he expected. Even in the old editions that we read in the sixties, the text was accompanied on the back by endorsements from Thomas Mann and T. S. Eliot. Hesse lives up to the kudos that he received from his great contemporaries. I believe that Hesse will still be read long after many of our more famous and highly praised contemporary writers are forgotten.

Rating:
Summary: Only in Non-Linguistic Experiential Subjectivity Goes East
Review: This book is a great read in mysticism and personal journey that portrays the value in subjectivity alone that exists in value of the mystical experience. No other as a guide, or written accounts, or league documents will do. There must be faith in non-verbal, non-linguistic experiential consciousness that outweighs all other means in order to find what one is deep down searching for.

Here Hesse joins a league and journeys to the east in search of an ideal, the beautiful Fatima. In his journey he experiences poetics and symbols that appear greater than the poets and people themselves, something beyond linguistics and explanations, things that cannot be simply written down in books for others to interpret, but rather only with personal experiences can such come about. His feeble attempts to write down in words such explanations of his journey and experience prove entirely futile and so does the vast array of other accounts attempted in such, including all attempts to even describe the league itself. Hesse finds out that only in despair does one continue his journey of experience that eventually learns to disregard the intellectual mind and it's attempt at explanations. Ultimately, it is only the experiential and subjective nature that has any value at all and subsequently, the eventual dissolving of oneself into all others, a unity that brings forth personal experience, mystical awareness: nothing else will suffice. And such a dissolving of the self, Hesse witnessed symbolically in a melting of a self portrait candle figure into a self portrait candle figure of the league's president.

This book is short and an easy read for the avid book reader. If you're ready as an individual, you will understand this message, a beautiful and inspiring message; the profound "isness" in non-linguistic, non-logical subjectivity, the magic, wonder and marvel of simply "being." Babies, that's right, infants, "know," unlike some of the greatest intellectuals and well-read amazon book reviewers. To understand is of course tied up with the individual's own spiritual journey toward the east. A wonderful book.

Rating:
Summary: east/west, steppenwolf, subject/object, etc.
Review: this book is classic Hesse to me because of the eastern vs. western dichotomy that it seems he deals with, in an autobiographical sense in many of his books. for some unknown reason, i was extremely touched with the visual language of this book.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling and charming
Review: This book is not what it at first appears to be, as is true of so much in life. It at first appears to be written about one journey, but we discover along with the author that another journey entirely is taking place. Any writer will relate to the struggles that the narrator experiences in parts II and III of this book; any reader may take the trial and sentencing of the narrator in the later part of the book as a cautionary tale.

Rating:
Summary: Hesse's intellectual genius strikes again
Review: This book is short and to the point. If anyone is looking for a spiritual quest with little time this is the book for you. A road book, in which many insights have come about, this is a story about the travels and tramas of a man in the east. I recommend this book to anyone who is going into or is already in college.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic, but not as an introduction to Hesse.
Review: This is a fantastic book, probably the most "mystical" of Hesse's works. Although I enjoyed it immensely, it is thick with references to Hesse's other works, and I can't recommend it as an introduction to his writing. If you've read a lot of Hesse, it may only serve to re-affirm themes from his other books. I however found it rewarding to read as a synthesis of his ideas to that point-- it is more than just a rehashing of old material.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Read but not Hesse's Best
Review: This is a good short read about self-awareness, hope, Art, and the consequences of self-willed despair. It's also a neat 'road' tale and a nostalgic look at mystical fellowship. I, too, came to it from Wolfe's Electric_Koolaid_Acid _Test! Interestingly, though, I've run across the same theme repeated in the experience of a lot of seekers after Truth.

Rating:
Summary: Journey to the East without a Lonely Planet Guidebook
Review: This is a whimsical journey to different lands and through other times. Originally published in German as "Die Morgenlandfahrt", or Journey to the Land of Light, it is a spiritual expedition by members of a secret League. Written in the first person, HH (Hesse) seeks his dream only to lose it through despair. He learns despair can be transformed to creativity just as creators of art, music and poetry have proven. This short novella could be read within a rainy afternoon, but the prose is so fluid you'll want to read it again, even when the sun is shinning.

Rating:
Summary: Journey to the East without a Lonely Planet Guidebook
Review: This is a whimsical journey to different lands and through other times. Originally published in German as "Die Morgenlandfahrt", or Journey to the Land of Light, it is a spiritual expedition by members of a secret League. Written in the first person, HH (Hesse) seeks his dream only to lose it through despair. He learns despair can be transformed to creativity just as creators of art, music and poetry have proven. This short novella could be read within a rainy afternoon, but the prose is so fluid you'll want to read it again, even when the sun is shinning.

Rating:
Summary: An intriguing little story.
Review: This is my first taste of Herman Hesse. Actually I had read it in college, in the 1980's, and for some reason kept it in the years hence. Reading the story again was indeed a journey, and great attention must be given to it. I am still pondering the thought raised by H.H.'s companion that next to the desire of experiencing something, the human has no stronger desire than to forget. And forget is what H.H. does, to his detriment. Leo is a symbol of the other in our lives: not always significant; quite often having more importance than we perceive. "Journey" is indeed a deep, if short, look at oneself in a world where we cannot forget the other. It is a journey both human and religious.