by Hermann Hesse
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Product Description
Narcissus and Goldmund is the story of a passionate yet uneasy friendship between two men of opposite character. Narcissus, an ascetic instructor at a cloister school, has devoted himself solely to scholarly and spiritual pursuits. One of his students is the sensual, restless Goldmund, who is immediately drawn to his teacher’s fierce intellect and sense of discipline. When Narcissus persuades the young student that he is not meant for a life of self-denial, Goldmund sets off in pursuit of aesthetic and physical pleasures, a path that leads him to a final, unexpected reunion with Narcissus.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Beautiful, profound, important, 2008-11-16
This book has it all. The writing is beautiful, just reading it is soothing. Hesse discusses an important aspect of everyone's life - namely our wants, desires and strives vs. being bound by our surroundings and society. The author develops important insights for how to deal with this struggle using an illustrative example. This technique allows the reader to spend hours on this topic in a constructive manner, while enjoying a beautiful book.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
A psychological Jungian Bildungsroman disguised as a fairy tale , 2008-07-09
I read this book the first time when I was eighteen and a freshman in college. That was thirty eight years ago. I didn't think the book would hold up to a second reading in 2008 but I was wrong; it was better than I remembered it.
Maybe I think it is better now because I understand and appreciate Narcissus, who I then dismissed as a dud.
Additionally, in 1970, I read the book as a "road" novel and I saw Goldmund as a peripatetic hero--a medieval hippie. This time I understood the two characters contained qualities that are necessary for wholeness. In other words I now see the novel as a metaphor for the soul's journey toward maturation.
In its simplest terms Goldmund is a puer aeternus, a Peter Pan, who travels the world absorbing sensations,which he turns into images that become art. Narcissus is the senex, who holds the base firm, upon which the puer dances.
The novel takes place in Medieval Germany. It begins with Goldmund's arrival at Mariabronn, a school and monastery. A young acolyte and scholar named Narcissus teaches Goldmund Greek and Latin and soon the two form a close friendship.
It soon becomes obvious to Narcissus that Goldmund does belong in a monastery, that he is an artist rather than a scholar or a candidate for the monastery, and that he possesses a sensual nature.
When Goldmund reaches eighteen he leaves the school and becomes a vagabond, traveling throughout Germany. During his journey he experiences the whole world, with all its beauty and horror. These experiences elicit artistic images and he trains with a sculptor and wood carver to become a master craftsman.
Hesse adopts a clear direct prose to relate Goldmund's adventures. His choice of locale and the manner in which the story is told creates a fairy tale quality, which ultimately is quite fitting.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Hesse's Master Work, 2008-05-17
From a writer more commonly working in shorter fiction, or at depths that require intense concentration, this book is an masterpiece of extended prose that balances depth and lyricism, scenery and thought, secular and divine. The dualities compliment the exploration of the two lives - the golden voice and the self-regarding man. But only by the names are these polarized, they could be argued to be either. As you finally leave the book you may feel expelled from a world and time more wonderful than the one you wake to, and with a closing movement as stunning as the final pages of Grapes of Wrath or Growth of the Soil, or Family Moscat.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
There are not eonough stars in the galaxy to rate this book, 2008-05-01
I especially loved the portrayal of meidevil life and the search for the meaning of what it means to be an artist and what art is all about. How artist take a differrent path to perection and understanding. Unplug the gadgets and read this.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Perhaps Hesse's greatest novel. It's certainly my favorite., 2006-12-12
I actually don't read a lot of fiction, but when I do I try to read very high quality material with a lot of depth, complexity and a story that reflects life as it is really lived with all of the uncertainties, difficult emotions, paradoxes, etc. This book succeeds on all accounts and is top notch in every way e.g. round characters, carefully developed plot and engaging interwoven themes that anyone can relate to.
This story deals with the struggle between the intellect and flesh. This personified by the two main characters. One is of a more artistic temperment and the other is a very disciplined type. The two are in search for truth and meaning, but they approach their search differently although they both start out life the same as monks.
In the end, as in real life I don't think the dilemma is resolved or completely understood. However, it is clear that both paths seem to lead to similar realizations. On one hand, the disciplined, intellectual approach to reality and on the other the more meandering, open and free-spirited path of direct experience guided by intuition.
There are many other reviewers who have written more detail about the plot, specifics and other details, so I won't repeat what they have said. What I would like to add is that this book shines a light on the important existential questions we all have and does it in a very powerful and moving way.
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