1932
(German Title: Narziss und Goldmund) - 1930
Reviewed by Marianne
from Let's Read
A friend of mine was surprised that I never read this book. Well, we
can't have read all the books available and I had read three other books
by Hermann Hesse before. Still, she had a DVD of the film they made in
2020 (see here) and then she lent me her copy of the book. Thanks, Elisabeth.
They
are both great works though, as so often with films, you cannot compare
the two. The ending is pretty different and there are parts that are
larger in the book than in the film and vice versa. Why do they always
have to do that? I have no idea.
This is a much acclaimed book
and supposedly one of Hesse's best. I can well understand that. It is a
great novel with many layers and much information about life in the
middle ages.
I have enjoyed the book very much though I find it
hard to say why. Certainly, the writing is superb and the description
not just of the two main characters but also all the other ones is
fantastic. Maybe I just say it's magical and - like magic - not
explainable.
Of course, I cannot vouch for any translations as I have read this book in the original German language.
From the back cover:
"Narcissus and Goldmund 
is
the story of two diametrically opposite men: one, an ascetic monk firm
in his religious commitment, and the other, a romantic youth hungry for
worldly experience.Hesse was a great writer in precisely the modern
sense: complex, subtle, allusive: alive to the importance of play.
Narcissus and Goldmund is his very best. What makes this short book so
limitlessly vast is the body-and-soul-shaking debate that runs through
it, which it has the honesty and courage not to resolve: between the
flesh and spirit, art and scientific or religious speculation, action
and contemplation."
And another one:
"Narcissus is a
teacher at Mariabronn, a monastery in medieval Germany, and Goldmund
his favourite pupil. While Narcissus remains detached from the world in
prayer and meditation, Goldmund runs away from the monstery in pursuit
of love. Thereafter he lives a picaresque wanderer's life, his amatory
adventures resulting in pain as well as ecstasy. His eventual reunion
with Narcissus brings into focus the diversity between artist and
thinker, Dionysian and Apollonian".
Hermann Hesse received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946 "for
his inspired writings which, while growing in boldness and penetration,
exemplify the classical humanitarian ideals and high qualities of
style".
Hermann Hesse received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade (Friedenspreis) in 1955.
Read my other reviews of the Nobel Prize winners for Literature.
Original Post on "Let's Read".
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