
Herman Hesse: Outside Man - the-enemy
https://www.weeklystandard.com/christoph-irmscher/herman-hesse-outside-man
======
ofrzeta
I've discovered Hermann Hesse comparatively late in my life, given that many
of his novels are seen as "coming of age" topics. Still I can recommend them
to anyone with an open mind or willing to open their mind or change
perspectives. For instance if you are into eastern thinking there's the famous
"Siddharta".

One of my personal favourites is "Narcissus and Goldmund", which sketches the
relationship between two young men who represent an "artistic" and a
"scientific" way of thinking and life.

~~~
JanSt
Siddhartha is an amazing story, at least for me. So much wisdom if it comes at
the right time in your life.

“His goal attracts him, because he doesn’t let anything enter his soul which
might oppose the goal. This is what Siddhartha has learned among the Samanas.
This is what fools call magic and of which they think it would be effected by
means of the daemons. Nothing is effected by daemons, there are no daemons.
Everyone can perform magic, everyone can reach his goals, if he is able to
think, if he is able to wait, if he is able to fast.”

~~~
robin_reala
One of the few Herman Hesse translations that’s PD in the US:

[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2500](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2500)

[https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/hermann-
hesse/siddhartha/g...](https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/hermann-
hesse/siddhartha/gunther-olesch_anke-dreher_amy-coulter_stefan-langer_semyon-
chaichenets)

------
maggotbrain
Seems like being raised in, and rejecting, a pietist environment can result in
some fantastic literature and philosophy. Hesse was raised in a pietist
household and smoked cigarettes to protest. Kant was brought up the same and
wrote "Critique of Pure Reason".

I don't necessarily regard Hesse's work as necessarily being directed towards
a 'coming of age' readership; but, I discovered him at a time when I was
struggling with my own "private battles of adolescence" and am grateful in
finding his work.

~~~
50
I, too, am lucky to have found him a few years ago in my late teens. It feels
like I’ve just been in an internal existential crisis these past few years and
his words always keep me grounded. Along with Rilke’s and Camus’s.

------
onemoresoop
I've come across dozens of copies Siddhartha in thrift shops and garage sales,
bought them all and given them to friends and colleagues to read.

I am surprised nobody mentions Hesse's book of short stories[1] which i highly
recommend. They are quite different from his novels and offer a different
insight into his world. It's the one book that I am going to to take with me
wherever I move.

[0] The Fairy Tales of Herman Hesse [https://www.amazon.com/Fairy-Tales-
Herman-Hesse/dp/B0000544O...](https://www.amazon.com/Fairy-Tales-Herman-
Hesse/dp/B0000544OY/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1541779289&sr=8-7&keywords=herman+hesse+short+stories)

~~~
gtycomb
Thank you to you also. I had read Hesse only because someone gave me the used
books too. A fine gift it is.

------
bsenftner
Herman Hesse is my Tesla, my Einstein, my guru. I first read "Siddhartha"
quite young, and by my early teens I'd read both "The Glass Bead Game" and
"Magister Ludi" \- a different translation a bit harder to read - I'd read
them both multiple times.

Hesse's philosophy is so comprehensive, there is no trite summary. Perhaps
simply viewing life as a series of symphonic movements, with competing
harmonies and melodies is as short as one can get.

~~~
pge
The closest I can get to describing his philosophy is that he is focused on
the tension between book learning and experiential learning (particularly as
manifest in the outdoors). The other theme that comes up repeatedly is the
relationship between students and teachers (both those that are in the
official role of teacher, and more often those that are teachers because a
student, often the protagonist, chooses to follow them and learn from them).

------
qxzw
I'm currently reading Steppenwolf by Hesse and it has me thinking a lot. Main
character (Harry Haller) seems to portray being in one of those "be careful
what you wish for" situations. One aiming for individuality and independence
at the cost of alienating people close to him. It is his desire, his goal in
the beginning and ends up being his punishment, his prison. Maybe I found the
book at the right time of my life (25).

~~~
jasim
"Ah, Harry, we have to stumble, through so much dirt and humbug before we
reach home. And we have no one to guide us. Our only guide is our
homesickness."

------
gtycomb
Those were the days. When Hess wrote The Glass Bead Game, Mann gave us The
Magic Mountain, Camus had The Plague, and Kafka ...

Yet what remain closest to me from my days of enjoying their writings is just
an essay by Herman Hess titled "Thou Shalt not Kill". Hess, the man and his
times, seems to unravel its depth and mystery here. (And Mann's short story,
"A Man and his Dog" has a similar staying power for me)

