I just read it, truly amazing, what from Hesse should i read next? I am also open to suggestions regarding different authors
>>24775380I like Siddhartha better. Steppenwolf is just a humorless Confederacy of Dunces.
>>24775389do you recommend confederacy of dunces?
Hesse is too soft fur mich
demian
>>24775380If you are an older mensch, then the Glass Bead Game. It was his last work so if you are not mature enough to get it, it might be over your head. But it is a masterpiece. If you're not ready to tackle the whole book you might even just read the three "Lives" at the back of it. The Father Confessor is particularly moving, but The Rainmaker is also excellent.
>>24775422I am 27 but that book restonaed with me for some reason
I'd say if could read just one Hesse book make it The Glass Bead Game. It's the most complete exploration of his themes as his final novel which also makes it redundant if read Steppenwolfe, Demian and Siddartha
>>24775380Also, similar to Steppenwolf actually is Death in Venice, if you haven't read that already. If you enjoyed Steppenwolf, you'll enjoy Death in Venice.
>>24775427Forgot to mention my reasoning is also because those 3 combined are probably shorter than TGBG
>>24775437I think I will read all his works, i am also new to reading (i picked it up on September) but I read 7 books since then, maybe you could recommend me something you really liked and could fit in what i have read?Nietzsches ZarathustraBlood Meridian (I think I got memed into reading it)Notes from the undergroundDeath of Ivan IlyichStrangerHunger by Hamsun - Didnt like itBernhard Correction - Loved it
The more i read hesse i feel like only Siddhartha and steppenwolf are his good works. Debian and narcissus & goldmund are plain and frankly not worth a read. I'll read the glass bead game to judge him thoroughly doe
>>24775451the thing about Hesse novels is they're basically all bildungsromans which you'll grow out of at some point. Definitely do read Siddhartha at least and pair it with Tao Te Ching, short and impacteful. As for other recs hard to say just based on a couple classics and depends on why you want to read, at some point alone switches from reaching for life changing answers to curiosity, love of language and form, a taste for certain genres so toward that end read a variety and don't get bogged down for years reading doorstoppers like Infinite Jest or War and Peace. My rec is ead some Poe this October. General advice get a collection of short stories from classic authors to broaden your taste. Indulge genre entertainment in moderation at first. If you get an itch to dive into philosophy and politics read a textbook like primer to get a lay of the land.
>>24775401I don't have a clue why that anon thinks these two books are similar, but Confederacy of Dunces is a fantastic book and you should absolutely read it>>24775427Looks like I'm going to read The Glass Bead Game next then. Steppenwolf and Demian bothered me because they had great ideas but felt incomplete, like they were each just the first part of a bigger story.
>>24775417This one
>>24775513What from Poe you recommend?
>>24775389Siddharta is absolute balls. But then, I quite like Steppenwolf. Since OP is on my side, he should read Demian next.>>24775553This is why I love Demian. It's just the build up to the dude's "arrival", without giving a shit about what he actually does with his Enlightenment. After all, if the Enlightened really did change the wider world, we wouldn't be in the mess we're in
Demian bored me so much it took me like two months to finish it.
>>24775513>novel about the problems of individuation / middle age is a Bildungsroman
>>24776619they're all short stories you can read in one sitting so have at whatever sounds interesting . Tell-Tale Heart is a classic, The Black Cat is a great portrait of twisted psychology and I'd say be sure to try The Murders in the Rue Morgue as it's one of the first proper modern detective stories but also explores rational cognition itself
>>24777401you are right fren, but u don't have to be offensive about it
>>24777812He's not, the genre is defined by it's themes of becoming, identity crisis, moral development, societal expectations, emotional maturation, self-actualization, not age limited around boys first boner. What do you think a MID-LIFE crisis is? They focus on the coming of age period because youth start in a state of naivety but many continue to follow the character into middle and late adulthood as those themes evolve into legacy, reconcilloation, acceptance: Martin Eden, The Magic Mountain, The Glass Bead Game
>>24778006yes, but there is a convention of "Bildungsroman" referring to a youthful period, going from childhood or youth into maturity. it's just a convention, but you are right about character arcs in general. i don't disagree with you that most good books have the essence of a "coming of age" in some kind.
>>24777802https://poestories.com/summaries.php
>>24775505>Debian and narcissus & goldmund are plain and frankly not worth a readit's mostly used on servers these days anyway
>>24775428Both are shit tier books>boohoo I am german after ww1 so many ppl died :( which means all past philosophies are bad and we need to take drugs and become pederasts
>>24778366>become pederaststhey did have that in common probably
