Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Demian (Dover Thrift Editions) by Hermann Hesse, Stanley Appelbaum ISBN: 0-486-41413-2 Publisher: Dover Publications Pub. Date: 01 December, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $2.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.57 (97 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Brilliant but often misunderstood
Comment: Hermann Hesse is without a doubt one of the most intriguing writers I have ever read. However, when reading reviews and hearing other people's opinions, I usually feel that peopl misunderstood what he is like and what his character represents. This is particularly the case with Demian. This book is often described as a great insight into what it is like going from child to teenager and then entering the adult world. However, I believe that Sinclair, the main character, is not entering the normal world on any level. In fact he is leaving it. The first time he meets Demian, both know there is something different about him. As their friendship/relationship grows, it become smore and more clear that they should not be part of the normal world, where people to choose to be part of a group, to share a religion, to accept the truth as it is told to them. Demian shows sinclair a new world, where people of a higher intelligence, and by that I am referring to more than simply an academic intelligence, will find each other. Those who are different, who choose to be individuals instead of be part of the the main stream mass meet, are Hesse's version of the ubermensch. Where Nietzsche claims that all men can let go of the standards and morals of our society, their religion, their need to be part of a group, can focus on themselves and become better, become the ubermensch, someone who is above all others, someone who is not alone in his existence, but who is alone in his own life, Hesse contradicts this with an ubermensch who is born different, someone who will find others like him, someone who will has a clear vision of what people are like and who he is, an individual, an ubermensch. Hermann Hesse's Demian is not at all about growing up, or understanding "how the world works", Hesse is not for the average reader, but he will only be understood by those who understand themselves and can see themselves as individuals instead of part of the mass. On a more personal note: The very strong homosexual tendencies in this book intensify the emotional appeal of the book and are also simply satisfying.
Rating: 3
Summary: Not his best... but it's still Hesse
Comment: I was drawn to this book in particular through a course on Existentialism, and in this course the professor mentions the Nietzschean overman's influence on Hesse... specifically in Demian, as the characterization of the overman. Being a fan of Nietzsche's work, especially his Zarathustra and Beyond Good and Evil, and having enjoyed Herman Hesse's books in the past, I was very excited to read Demian.
Unfortunately, when I get too excited about anything it's usually a let-down. Hesse published this book anonymously, or rather as the narrator Sinclair. This behavior is questionable to me. Additionally, I don't agree that Hesse's characterization of the overman, although it does touch on some issues, does justice to Nietzsche. I don't feel the book should be approached with this comparison. Instead, it should be approached as an angsty-spiritual quest of the troubled youth in the European atmosphere of pre-WW1 tension.
I found some of the "spiritual" views disorganized, contradictory and not well elaborated upon. They were "cool" ideas, shallow ideas... They certainly could have gone further into the realm of meaningfulness.
Due to its immense success upon its original date of publication, success with the youth market, Hesse fessed up to his ownership and tagged his name on future editions of Demian. Kids were shocked that a man in his forties described so well how they felt. I couldn't help to think that if I read Demian as a young man.. in my teens... this book might have changed my perception on life.
Anyway, I prefered Siddartha over this one... I feel they are both the same story with a different setting. And also Siddhartha was enormously brilliant while Demian was a bit above average.
Rating: 3
Summary: Interesting...for some.
Comment: I first ran across this book last year as a Sophomore. One of my friends had to read it for an English class. I had asked her about it, and she said it was something about a guy liking someone's mom. That struck me as odd, since the cover (of that edition, anyway) picture of a dark figure looking down on a shadowy background looked to me like something where everything was in his (whoever it was) head - like there's nothing going on, really, he just thinks there is.
Now it's a year later, and I decided to give the book a chance after I read some good things about it. Now, I know the saying goes that you should never judge a book by its cover, but I'd say that in this case, the cover that I saw was right on the mark: everything in the book *is* inside Emil's head. The "light" and "dark" worlds, the schoolyard bully who plays a joke on him, Demian's mom (who, yes indeed, is the object of his affection), the whole "Abraxas" deal...
It really is an interesting read - maybe because I like psychology, or maybe just because some of the stuff that goes on does catch your eye - like Sinclair's talk of praying to a painting, of trying to find beauty, and that great conversation with another friend who can't understand his lust for women. I do like the book, but there were times I felt I was reading Walden again: that nothing was going on, the same old "what is it inside me" question being repeated over and over, as Sinclair just seems to care for himself...
I call Demian an introvert book because of the self discovery and the talk of the inner being. There really isn't a whole lot of action, or even interaction with other people. As I said before, Walden is similar in that both narrators are going on and on about mundane issues. Maybe that's because I like action (girls, movies, music, friends) and not sitting around ruminating about a world of hell or the pond my shack is built on. Maybe if Sinclair would just realize that its no good to be so negative all the time, that yes, the world's a scary place; but ONLY if you let it bother you. Don't be active in dreams only - DO SOMETHING!
 |
Title: Steppenwolf: A Novel by Hermann Hesse, Basil Creighton ISBN: 0312278675 Publisher: Picador USA Pub. Date: 01 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
 |
Title: Narcissus and Goldmund by Hermann Hesse ISBN: 0553275860 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 February, 1984 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
 |
Title: Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse ISBN: 0553208845 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 December, 1981 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
 |
Title: The Glass Bead Game: (Magister Ludi) by Hermann Hesse, Richard Winston, Clara Winston ISBN: 0312278497 Publisher: Picador USA Pub. Date: 01 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
 |
Title: Beneath the Wheel by Hermann Hesse, Michael Roloff ISBN: 031242230X Publisher: Picador USA Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
