Books with author Hermann HESSE

In Siddhartha, Hermann Hesse conveys a very profound message for all those who seek meaning in their lives. Though set in India, the concerns of Siddhartha are universal, expressing Hesse's general interest in the conflict between mind, body, and spirit. It is a story of a Brahmin boy who follows his heart and ventures out into the world to experience life as a pious Brahmin, a Samana, a rich merchant, a lover, and ordinary ferryman to a father, each life bringing a new awakening, bringing him closer to the truth until he is finally one with Buddha.

Hermann Hesse was born in 1877 at Calw, Germany, into a scholarly and deeply religious family. Hesse’s “tyrannical temperament, and passionate turbulence” led to conflict with his strait-laced parents and his adolescence was unhappy – brief stints at a variety of different schools culminating in a suicide attempt and a short stay in a mental institution. Determined to become a writer, Hesse used these unfortunate experiences as the basis of many of his critically acclaimed books, including the present work. Demian is the story of a young boy, Emil Sinclair, and his quest for personal development as he grows into manhood - a process that brings him up against many strange characters and even stranger theories of life’s true purpose. His ‘spiritual guide’ in this endeavour is Max Demian, an enigmatic youth who befriends the troubled Emil and, with the help of his mother Frau Eva, gradually brings him to a deeper understanding of his innermost self. The book is at once a poignant coming-of-age story and an impassioned enquiry into the truth behind the confusing, and often contradictory, world-systems as espoused by Christianity, Gnosticism, Buddhism, Daoism and Hinduism. Shot through with writings of such luminaries as Carl Gustav Jung and Friedrich Nietzsche, Demian is an exhilarating exploration of what it means to be young and human, and the oftimes tortuous path towards some form of enlightenment.

With parallels to the enlightenment of the Buddha, Hesse's Siddhartha is the story of a young Brahmin's quest for the ultimate reality. Steeped in the tenets of both psychoanalysis and Eastern mysticism, Siddhartha presents an original view of man and culture, and the arduous process of self-discovery that leads to reconciliation, harmony, and peace.

In the shade of a banyan tree, a grizzled ferryman sits listening to the river. Some say he's a sage. He was once a wandering shramana and, briefly, like thousands of others, he followed Gotama the Buddha, enraptured by his sermons. But this man, Siddhartha, was not a follower of any but his own soul. Born the son of a Brahmin, Siddhartha was blessed in appearance, intelligence, and charisma. In order to find meaning in life, he discarded his promising future for the life of a wandering ascetic. Still, true happiness evaded him. Then a life of pleasure and titillation merely eroded away his spiritual gains until he was just like all the other "child people," dragged around by his desires. Like Hermann Hesse's other creations of struggling young men, Siddhartha has a good dose of European angst and stubborn individualism. His final epiphany challenges both the Buddhist and the Hindu ideals of enlightenment. Neither a practitioner nor a devotee, neither meditating nor reciting, Siddhartha comes to blend in with the world, resonating with the rhythms of nature, bending the reader's ear down to hear answers from the river.

Demian is a psychological masterpiece of modern literature. This novel explores the duality of human nature and the alienation of man's soul. A powerful coming of age story. Wilder Publications is a green publisher. All of our books are printed to order. This reduces waste and helps us keep prices low while greatly reducing our impact on the environment.