Serrano was a writer and diplomat who sought out 2 masters as a spiritual/philosophic seeker. Fascinating biography, mixed with Serrano's own fixations.

Serrano later fixated on Adolph Hitler, so there certainly seems to be a germanic bent that he followed. Read "Black Sun" to see the strange path MS took after his encounters with Hesse and Jung.

I picked this up because I had read several books by Hesse and was interested in Mr. Serrano's personal experiences with the Master. I found his writing to be quite engaging, and felt as if I had met Hesse myself. The section on Jung piqued my interest enough for me to search for his, The Undiscovered Self, which I loved as well. I also went on to read Mr. Serrano's, The Ultimate Flower. Unfortunately most of Serrano's other works are out of print. Get this before it goes o.o.p. too. You won't regret it.

This is Hesse at his most sentimental and naive. He explores both sides of his personality and both are inadequate. Coming back to the book after a break of thirty years, I wondered how I could I have been sdeuced by so much tosh. "Ah but I was so much younger then, I'm younger than that now."

Hesse has completed a novel that everyone should read. This story is so compelling, so universal, that I instantly wanted to be more like Goldmund. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to feel a philosophical change in their lives.

hesse was a genius. narcissus and goldmund is beautifully written, even after its translation to english. the writing and the story are compelling; i simply could not put it down and it was finished in three days. it is mesmerising, heartbreaking, philosophical, and most of all, it shows humans as they truly are. i cannot say enough about how much i loved this book; even if you don't like it at first, stick with it through the end; it is well worth it. it is a celebration of humanity in the highest. a must read for all heads.

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.

I feel that the novel Demian was a highly intellectual novel and very enlightening! It's like no other book I've read in which it's not your usual story of a boy growing up. It's about a boy growing up and questioning his faith with the help of a boy named Demian who is a classmate. Emil, the main character feels that Demian is the image in which he wants to be. He fantisizes about this image and will do anything to be it. Demian helps Emil to break from his contious mind and enter his subconcious. It is a wonderful book and I highly recommend in to any philosophy fans, or anybody at all.

There are certain books I feel compelled to read, whether enjoyable or not. I plowed through `Moby Dick` and did likewise with `Ulysses`, painful though each task was. Am I any better for sychiatrist.

I have to say I found myself in the same situation with Hesse`s `The Glass Bead Game`. This is the breathless biography of Joseph Knecht, Magister Ludi of utopian Castilia and leader of the Glass Bead Game (a bizarre symbological synthesis of music, science and the arts).

Hesse tries to make some sweeping indictments of modern technological culture. In the end, what he ends up doing is boring you half to death. I read and enjoyed his `Steppenwolf` and `Siddartha`, so no doubt that he knew his stuff. But I fear that his self-proclaimed magnum opus falls far short of the mark. Again and again he lapses into rambling discourses on the nature of intellectualism and pedantry, tepid enough to send you rushing for a hot shower.

Now admittedly, better readers than I have praised this book to the skies, but I must say that I don`t get it. No story, no compelling narrative, the constant fallback position of incessant gnattering about the nature of the mind. My advice to those who read this - coffee, and lots of it.

Hermann Hesse, mystical madman genius, blessed 20th century culture with an irresistable body of work. Magister Ludi, like so many of Hesse's novels, takes the reader inside the mind of its central character. Joseph Knecht, a human MENSA meeting, is given every opportunity to develop his intellect to its fullest potential. The majority of the book follows Joseph's charmed life from childhood music lessons to his apex as master of the glass bead game, a metaphor for the most balanced expression of music, philosophy, mathematics, and all that is and will be. Set in a futuristic, utopian nosuchplace long after the last of the great wars, the story begins and ends in an intellectual arena which seems to exist outside of time. Many readers may grow tired of the scores of pages dedicated to the ramblings, conflicts, and introspections of a scholar. However, the truly devoted reader will find unparalleled examples of Hesse's penchant for both harsh reality and eastern mysticism in the last hundred pages. The posthumous writings of Joseph Knecht, a collection of "homework assignments" written by the Magister Ludi in his youth, yields some beautiful poems and parables.

Another reviewer in this space criticised Magister Ludi because there is "No story, no compelling narrative, the constant fallback position of incessant gnattering about the nature of the mind." This is not a story, and the narrative is meant to support the theme of the book: an exploration of the dangers of purely intellectual pursuit of the world. It's a novel of ideas and one which provokes a patient reader to think about themes which are frequently glossed over or ignored in contemporary fiction. Readers who appreciate irony, subtle humor, and reference to real personages will enjoy this work. The idea that the whole of human culture, science, art, thought and understanding could be embodied in something called a "game" is an apt starting point for this cleverly constructed extension of HH's earlier works - without being mired in a specific age or setting, as in Siddhartha, Narcissus & Goldmund, etc. Hesse earned the Nobel Prize in Lit! erature for this provocative novel: deservedly so.

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.