Hesse's tale of a young Brahmin's son about to embark on the adventure of life is a wonderfully simple and concise story - it is a parable about the struggle of life, and has a wonderfully optimistic message.

Hesse's strengths as an author lie in the way he imbues a strong narrative with a dual meaning - one comes away with the impression of having read a good book, but at the same time with the realisation that the story was merely a framework on which Hesse has hung a touching spiritual tract.

This is the rarest of books--it's one of the very few you remember and reread and recommend and reread and recommend some more. It makes life seem unknowable and breathtaking, which I guess is about as much as any book can do. Thank god Hesse wrote Steppenwolfe soon after, since the beauty of Siddhartha is almost discouraging. And if you've read Siddhartha (or Steppenwolf), you HAVE to read Journey to the East. But first, READ SIDDHARTHA!!

The story seems simple on the surface. I believe it depicts an ambivalent attitude about Buddhism, and favors a Taoist way of harmony. Siddhartha's rejection of dogma or teaching is pure Taoism. But at the same time Hesse shows that inflation and gratifacation of the ego with pleasure, wealth, etc. is also problematic. The most memorable line is "the opposite of a truth is also true. A truth cloaked in words is only one sided." Paradox, the insistence on the present, the belief that wisdom can only be lived but not expressed in words or taught, the unity of samsara and nirvana is entirely consistent with Taoism or Zen and not Buddhism per se. Seek without seeking might be the message of the story. This is only my interpretation and might not be entirely true. Decide for yourself.

"Everywhere on earth there are people of our kind. That for a small part of them, I can be a focal point, the nodal point in the net, is the burden and the joy of my life." (Hesse private letter, 1955)

This is a fantastic book that deals with the mysteries of life and a man's relation to his surrounding. Knulp is a wanderer who has an inherent quest for freedom and travel which conflicts with tradition. We see the stages of his life including his death at the end in a dialogue with god who represents existence. Man must express himself in order to find his own nature is the basic thrust of this short work by a great author...

Many are the works written on the subject of being a vagabond, simply because we all have that drifting nomad buried somewhere deep inside of ourselves.Knulp is the tale of an amicable hobo of sorts who wanders through life with no responsibilities and even less guilt about it. Surrounded by dear friends and acquaintances, who live vicariously through him, Knulp seems the free spirit. His freedom is limited and make-believe however, restricted to his imaginary safety net of boundaries set in place so that he may continue to "pretend" his life. Guilt seems to catch up with our self-centered puck eventually as he finds himself expiring in a drift of snow amidst a blizzard.It is then that a discussion with God about how he has wasted his whole life turns into a revelation of what Knulp's true purpose for living has been. Excellent and quick to read. "Knulp" was one of Hesse's earlier works and quite a bit lighter and easier to comprehend than his later stories( not to take away from any of Hesse's works mind you.)<<<<>>>>

Hesse's Knulp reads like one of Pacaso's abstracts; soft summer sun beats down on Knulp's back everything is light and gay. In many ways Knulp remains a child throughout his long and lively life. A very good work by an even better author.

It shows the excellent ability of Hesse in mastering both styles of writing. His style in writing poems is magnificant, and very clear. I am sure the translation is still weaker than the original german language, but nevertheless it is a highly recommended book to read.

If you are a Hesse fan, you will enjoy this even more.

It is unfortunate, though Hesse always thought of himself first as a poet, readers who are not fluent in German rarely get to read any of his poetry. Highly lyrical and Romantic, Hesse's poems remind his readers that the world he was most comfortable in was the creation of the German poets in the century which preceded him. Highly reminiscent of Holderin with a bit of Goethe thrown in for style, all of the poems selected are eminently readable. James Wright has gone for a literal translation, and in many cases causes the poems to loose the musical charm his words have in German. For those who, like me, are critical of translations, the German text for each poem is also included. Anyone with an interest in Hesse or in the twentieth century canon should defintely read this book.

Another great book by Hermann Hesse decribing the search of Peter for peace...

Peter coming for a very small town is taken by a priest to learn and get cultured. He spends a lot of his life trying to get that perfect combination, he goes through a tragedy in the loss of a friend, and misery romances.

Boppi shows up and life changes, standards change, and Peter starts seeing the beauty in the small everyday behaviors...

Hermann Hessse expresses in Peter some of the things he went through, the pain in the beginning before finally understanding what life is all about...

I've read all works of Hesse that I could find during my teenage years. I read them not as books but as a starving person would devour delicious food.

I have not yet encountered another book (Hesse or not) that is as striking as Peter Camerzind. That's partly because I had some tough times during my teenage years and in Peter C. Hesse is 100% realistic to me.

It's been 12-13 years that I had not read Hesse again with maybe with one or two exceptions. As I said before, I read Hesse when I was a teenager and I had no intentions to analyze, criticize or whatever ! There are too many people who go into to analytical descriptions of Hesse's works. Don't do it. I do not think that Hesse's works are intellectual. I doubt he is after anything intellectual, rational or analytical. It could be the opposite ! Forget about the feeling you had while reading, do you think a wolf wandering in the steppes would philosophize ?

I felt Peter Camerzind deep in my heart. That's all I have to say.

Hermann Hesse is a superb writer. This book is very good for a first novel (and very good for a novel, period). I have read all of Hesse's major novels except Gertrude and I can honestly say that none of them moved me in the way which this book did. Hesse's description of the yearnings of one's soul are always stirring. But the story of the narrator's relationship with the hunchback, Boppi, is unforgettable. To claim that Peter did not find what he was looking for and that "he does not enjoy life", as one reviewer claims, is absurd. It completely misses Hesse's point. Anwyays, read the book and find out for yourself -- don't take my word for it.

i am currently a sophomore in high school. as part of my ap english class, we are forced to read six books in six weeks with six different writing assignments. i read herman hesse's siddhartha and i was suprised by the story that i read. it was truly a good book. many of my classmates did not think that highly, but i believe it to be one of the best books i have ever read. it makes you want to read it again, so you can think about every sentence more and maybe find some sort of meaning to our lives.

This book starts out when Siddhartha, a Brahmin's son, leaves his family to find inner peace. Then the book didvides into three parts of his life. The ascetic, which is when siddhartha becomes Samana, the lover, which is when Siddhartha falls in love with Kamala. The final part is the ferryman, where Siddhatha spends the rest of his life searching for inner peace. At the end of the book he finds inner peace and becomes a Buddha. I think Siddhatha was a well rounded character. I like how he was never staisfied with himself and determined to find inner peace. This was a great book to read.

In my English 9 Honors class, we read this book, Siddhartha. I thought that this was a really good and interesting book and I liked it a lot. I liked the way that the author, Herman Hesse, wrote about Siddhartha's life in religion. Also I liked the way that this book progressed. To me this book got so much better and more interesting towards the end of the book than the beginning. Also, in our class we got to read some of Herman Hesse poems and I liked that too. I reccommend this book to all that reads my comments.

If you are looking for buried literary treasure, it is here. You will need to walk and walk again through the pages, but the treasures are there...some obvious, some subtle, some not to be understood for years. Being of the age of Harry Haller, the questions ring the same for me, yet not quite as dark and depressing. But this was his Black and White world. Keep this book at hand as you grow. You will find further treasure as time goes on. It's a keeper

While I cannot comment on the Spanish editon, I can say that I've read the book in the original German and in English translation (I am studying Spanish and was pleased see this edition for sale in Guatemala when I was last there); This is a book I can strongly recommend for introverts, especially for sensitive, introspective readers in their early 20s who may be going through a personal intellectual crises of their own. When I first read this book it was as an exchange student (4th year college student) living in Germany, near the end of my 1 year stay, feeling especially isolated socially, overwhelmed by intellectual Weltschmerz, and depressed to the point of contemplating suicide. I'm glad I picked up this book and started reading it. Thankfully, Hesse's German prose reads lucidly and easily, and I recommend the original to students of the language if only for that. I so strongly identifed with the protagonist that I could not put the book down, and I literally credit the book with saving my life...It gave me comfort and hope, and gave me lots to think about. I remember reading the book later in English upon returning to my university's home campus after that year abroad for a German lit class. We did an interesting character comparision between Harry Haller of Steppenwolf and Josef K. from Kafka's The TRIAL. I can't remember the particulars now but the contrast of the two literary characters as an illumnation of the phenomena(s) of Modernism was especially intellectually gratifying. I can only hope the Spanish translation does it justice.

este libro, como los otros de su autor, trata de la eterna busqueda del ser humano, esa busqueda que no cesa y que suele a veces ser causa de nuestras desgracias.era muy joven cuando lei este libro pero me senti identificado con el protagonista de la obra y me definia a mi mismo como un lobo de las estepas.creo haber superado esa etapa y si volviera a leerla no me identificaria tanto con el, pero es un libro y una etapa que debe pasarse y leerse ... LUIS MENDEZ

I must admit I was somewhat disappointed with this short book. It seemed to all lead up to Hesse's message regarding the responsibility of the self to accept the responsibility of guiding others and that pure followers are doomed to disappear. One only imagines that Hesse had an idea, almost like a dream, where a couple sentences summarizes an array of experiences whereby one feels like he has been through the entire journey with him yet cannot recall details. Although at times interesting, this book seems to be Hesse's period of contemplation before undertaking The Glass Bead Game.

In many ways, this book serves as a humble yet profound companion to Siddhartha and the Glass Bead Game (whose dedication reads: "To the Journeyers to the East"). It is another of Hermann Hesse's beautiful tales of searching. The story is that of HH, a member of an apparently long-dissolved League, a League of travelers who traversed space and time to absorb the wisdom, culture, and secrets of the ages to find peace and unity. As HH tries to recount this story, he reaches a great obstacle: the unexplained disappearance of League servant. He cannot go on. The rest of the book shows how HH deals with this encumbrance, only to find out that the truth he has been searching for is simpler than he though, and it is right in front of him.

What insight Hesse had, to be able to see that endless searching can blind us to what we already know, to be able to express the often-neglected value of humility and faithful servitude. Hesse's feel for communal and individual values shines forth in this brilliantly simple story, all of 117 pages.

And so I invite you to read this short tale in the hope that you, too, will find what you are looking for.

I first read this book on the bus to school yesterday morning. I read it again in chemistry. I read it again when I got home. I couldn't stop. Somehow, Hesse struck a chord in me and I just couldn't stop reading this mesemerizing book. I was simply, completely stunned. I watched as this man remembered into his youth and his journey to the east, his goals, his apparent failure and ultimate victory. I identified with him every step of the way. I cried so much, but the kind of joyous tears like when you realize you're not quite alone in the world. Journey to the East made me unimaginably tired. I wanted to just curl up and dream a million dreams in Hesse's simple, descriptive prose.

In Rosshalde, Hesse draws on his own life experience to describe the feelings of resigned loneliness surrounding the loveless marriage of painter Johann Veraguth and his wife, Adele. The famous painter lives alone in his studio on the same grounds as the house harboring his wife and son. This estate, Rosshalde, becomes the serene backdrop for the melancholy tale of a man whose love for his son has kept him in a stagnant state of resignation. A visit from an old friend finally stirs the emotions that have long been lurking inside of Veraguth, granting him the insight he will need to be free of his own self-made prison. Lyrical and deeply sad, Rosshalde is not Hesse's best work, but it may indeed be his most emotionally sincere.

The book is as beautiful as it is sad. Set in beauty amongst the lime tree garden with its flowers and strawberries, the lake, the painters studio, the big beautiful house with a dear boy, a beautiful wife and the famous painter himself. Still nothing is as it should be. Then there is the travelling friend and the longing for something else. In Rosshalde Hermann Hesse constructed a very pleasant novel. A sad one, but with all the beautiful ingredients of art, nature, people, feelings and Hesse's language and art of story telling.

I've read most Hesse's work, and after long and hard deliberation(not really) I have found Rosshalde to just barely beat out The Steppenwolf. We know Hesse as being a very mystical writer, but this book is vibrantly real, and moving. If you want to understand Hesse as a person, and not as a writer, this is the book to read- it is similar to events that occured in his life. The question is then asked, should the artist(and this I mean writers, musicians, etc.) have a typical family? This is a question that will never be answered with a yes or no, but this book is accurate in exposing both sides of the battle.

If you liked such masterpieces as 'Demian' 'Steppenwolf' and 'Siddhartha',you must know who is the one who stands behind those marvelous works.Those books have influenced my life a lot, and I think of Hesse as my teacher and my friend. That`s why I wanted to know more about this Nobel prize winner,and this book gave me all the informations I wanted to know.

Soul of Age contains a good selection of Hesse's letters that provide a very usefull introduction to Hesse. The translations are very good, and the introduction is informative and intresting. Some letters between Jung and Hesse are missing, but you can find them in Michael Serrano's book.