Demian (Perennial Classics)

Written during the Great War, the individual and the social are both given poetic attention, deep feeling, spiritual power.. Are you a loner, with few best friends, inquiring, seeking? You found the book(s) written for you by Hesse. Read on. One of his earlier books, maybe the first major one, Demian, was for me one of Hesse's last to read, after the more famous and in chronological order, Siddhartha, Steppenwolfe, Narcissus and Goldmund, The Journey to the East and The Glass Bead Game.. Kind of a leftover.. But, how fresh and delicious! Enjoy.

Since "Siddhartha" is one of my favorite books, I thought I'd explore some more of Hesse's work. A friend had recommended Demian, so I picked it up and gave it a read.

There have been enough people who have found this work to be brilliant that I cannot say it's no good. All I can say is my own experiences, which was two key things: first and foremost, I simply did not connect with this book. This was disappointing, particularly considering how much I did connect with Siddhartha. They are two very different stories, of course, but I had reasonably high hopes for Demian which were not met. The main character's situation, his thoughts, his life, his struggles--they just didn't draw me in.

Second, and this probably has a lot to do with my first complaint, was that it felt like a chore to read. Demian is not a long book, but I felt as though I was trying to slog through it each time I picked it up. I didn't look forward to it, and it didn't excite me. This, again, was completely opposite from my experience with Siddhartha, which I devoured in a matter of a day or two.

Overall disappointing to me, but the fact remains that this is among the classics in many people's minds--so I can't knock it completely for that reason.

One of the more thought provoking books I've ever read. I would recommend to anyone and everyone. Hesse uses such poetic language that often I gasp or sighed while reading on the subway. Excellect read.

Entertaining and engaging but weird. Typical Hesse. The book delves into the psyche as with Hesse's other works. It is well written and it is an easy read. As with Hesse's Steppenwolf , you feel the protagonist barely is in touch with practical reality or lives most of the time in the realm of some nether reality

My wife is teaching this novel in German and ordered this so I could read it in English. There are some problems with this edition. The publisher, BN Publishing, does not list a city or location of publication. An internet search for BN publishing and a visit to their website reveals no information about who they are. They publish all kinds of works, mostly nonfiction. This edition of Demian has no introduction, and the translator is not identified. This and the lack of a publisher location make the edition useless for academic work because it can not be properly referenced. I can't say this with certainty, but I suspect the publisher is reprinting a translation for which the copyright has expired and is not crediting the translator. We sent the book back and are planning to purchase the Dover German-English edition.

Hermann Hesse's novel Demian provides an accessible and optimistic view of one youth's progression to intellectual and spiritual maturity and counterbalances the pessimism of the ultimately empty institutionalized pedagogy of the author's later Magister Ludi. Gnostic and Jungian themes and imagery lend the book a sense of alien mystery that goes a distance in explaining the novel's popularity among students.

I have read excerpts of this book and bought this version figuring that the layout would be different-but surprisingly, the text is not as well translated in my opinion than some other editions I sampled.
Oh well. The story still works.

This was a great novel, especially when looking at it through Existentialism. It was very short, but also very interesting because of the symbolism, and I found myself identifying with the story. The physical book was also in good shape as was described and the shipping was efficient.

I purchased this specific copy for the cover artwork. That being said, I have yet to finish the book, I am about half-way through, but I do love it. It's my first Hesse read, and it does make me want to read more of his work. The book was in pristine condition and its easy for reading with generous line spacing and font size. It shipped quicker than it said so that was a plus!

if you can look past the dated material the emotional life of a young man and all its quiet desperate suffering is very well expressed...especailly coming from a good middle class family....It has always rung true for me.

if you can look past the dated material the emotional life of a young man and all its quiet desperate suffering is very well expressed...especailly coming from a good middle class family....It has always rung true for me.