Written in German and published in 1927, Hermann Hesse's tenth novel, not a biography of the lukewarm band that brought us such classic rock radio hits as 'Born To Be Wild' and 'Magic Carpet Ride,' is decent. It's only 250 pages. It's about a guy who envisions himself as having a psyche that is divided in two. One side can cope in society and the other side, the wolfish side, can not deal with the world and longs to commit suicide. Throughout the novel, the boundaries of fantasy are routinely crossed, especially the ending, the most entertaining part of the book, in which Harry 'Steppenwolf' Haller is described as being in a 'Magic Theater' where he can step through any of thousands of various doors and live out various scenarios. These include a shoot-em-up war scene and an encounter with a chessman who explains life as being chess pieces that are forever being rearranged. By the way, Steppenwolf is a German word that means 'coyote,' literally 'wolf of the steppes.' Some words in English related:lycanthropy (noun): 1. a delusion in which one imagines oneself to be a wolf or other wild animal.
2. the supposed or fabled assumption of the appearance of a wolf by a human being.
lupine (adjective): pertaining to or resembling the wolf; wolflife; wolfish
Not a bad book, however, if you are going to read something written by Hermann Hesse, I would definately recommend reading Siddhartha first. This seemed to me to be the better book, and it's even shorter. It's a book about the main character, Siddharta's, quest for enlightment. Siddhartha was the birth name of Buddha (so Wikipedia tells me), and the novel is set in 6th Century B.C. India. Whether or not Siddhartha is supposed to be Buddha himself in the novel, I don't know. Buddhist philosophy, however, still abounds.
It's a very good book. Thom Yorke likes it and used it for inspiration on at least a couple of songs on the Amnesiac album, most plainly heard in the lyrics to 'Pyramid Song.' So all you Radiohead fans out there, check it out. Quick read, read it in one sitting, beside a river, honestly. It gives you a good feeling. You'll thank me later. 
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1 comment:
Hey, Im a friend of Levis, he told me to check out your page...great work, I love it!! Siddharta is a pretty incredible book, I remember in 9th grade when I read it the first time for class everyone warned me about it because "it was so boring". However, I think you just have to have a specific desire to seek out the unknown and expand your mind, otherwise it will seem pretty meaningless. I really relate to the beginning of the book, in which Siddharta is constantly going through the motions of religious tradition and rituals which are "guaranteed" to work. However, he realizes that this isn't getting him anywhere, so he goes out to make his own path, get in his own adventures, and experience the world in his own way, rather then let others decide what he should or shouldn't believe. Perhaps some correlation to the typical religious experience of today?
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