Lisa's Reviews > Der Steppenwolf
Der Steppenwolf
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Lisa's review
bookshelves: nobels, 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die
Jun 25, 2014
bookshelves: nobels, 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die
Read 2 times. Last read July 26, 2019 to July 28, 2019.
Rereading is tricky business!
And if the author's name is Hermann Hesse, rereading is a hit or miss experience, all depending on whether you happen to be in that time-space-continuum where Hesse makes sense or not. I devoured his works in my twenties, only to drop them like hot potatoes in my thirties, anachronistically blaming Hesse for being out of touch with the modern perception of the world as I knew it right then. So, now in my early forties, I seem to have swung back on that eternally moving pendulum of my literary taste, and I again devoured the Steppenwolf with wo(o)lfish appetite, greedy for each page.
And unsurprisingly, what struck me as of no interest a decade ago now seems to be a reality to suffer through again. When Harry Haller finds himself quoting Goethe's Faust and his "two souls", only to be told off by his modern female Mephisto Hermine that there are thousands of layers to each personality, and that Faust made an (excusable) oversimplification, I find myself nodding and smiling.
Or at least one of the many souls in my body finds comfort in that dilemma, while some other souls inside me cringe at the stupidity of being human in general. The dystopian dream landscapes of Pablo's theatre make a lot more sense to me now as well, as I see parallel lines in our confused lives - part virtual, part real - that we dedicate our time to nowadays, following links on the internet not unlike the prompts that lead Heller to different parts of the theatre, finally leading to a mock killing and a mock execution, that could of course also be real. Who knows? IRL or VR?
Then there is the political misery of 1927, with people partying away in jazz clubs and dance halls while the clownish machos in power prepare another war by appealing to the one-dimensional patriotism that seems to be a placebo for people who are afraid of the wolfish/intellectual soul duality/multiplicity and are looking for clarity in the labyrinth called human experience. What do you say to the novel written in 1927? Good luck? You might have been too pessimistic? Hardly. We all know what happened next, and that is where the relatability itself of Steppenwolf gets scary.
Very scary indeed!
And if the author's name is Hermann Hesse, rereading is a hit or miss experience, all depending on whether you happen to be in that time-space-continuum where Hesse makes sense or not. I devoured his works in my twenties, only to drop them like hot potatoes in my thirties, anachronistically blaming Hesse for being out of touch with the modern perception of the world as I knew it right then. So, now in my early forties, I seem to have swung back on that eternally moving pendulum of my literary taste, and I again devoured the Steppenwolf with wo(o)lfish appetite, greedy for each page.
And unsurprisingly, what struck me as of no interest a decade ago now seems to be a reality to suffer through again. When Harry Haller finds himself quoting Goethe's Faust and his "two souls", only to be told off by his modern female Mephisto Hermine that there are thousands of layers to each personality, and that Faust made an (excusable) oversimplification, I find myself nodding and smiling.
Or at least one of the many souls in my body finds comfort in that dilemma, while some other souls inside me cringe at the stupidity of being human in general. The dystopian dream landscapes of Pablo's theatre make a lot more sense to me now as well, as I see parallel lines in our confused lives - part virtual, part real - that we dedicate our time to nowadays, following links on the internet not unlike the prompts that lead Heller to different parts of the theatre, finally leading to a mock killing and a mock execution, that could of course also be real. Who knows? IRL or VR?
Then there is the political misery of 1927, with people partying away in jazz clubs and dance halls while the clownish machos in power prepare another war by appealing to the one-dimensional patriotism that seems to be a placebo for people who are afraid of the wolfish/intellectual soul duality/multiplicity and are looking for clarity in the labyrinth called human experience. What do you say to the novel written in 1927? Good luck? You might have been too pessimistic? Hardly. We all know what happened next, and that is where the relatability itself of Steppenwolf gets scary.
Very scary indeed!
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Reading Progress
Finished Reading
June 25, 2014
– Shelved
June 26, 2014
– Shelved as:
nobels
August 9, 2014
– Shelved as:
1001-books-to-read-before-you-die
July 26, 2019
–
Started Reading
July 26, 2019
–
11.15%
""Zum wirklichen Leiden, zur Hölle wird das menschliche Leben nur da, wo eine ganze Generation so zwischen zwei Lebensstile hineingerät, daß ihr jede Selbstverständlichkeit, jede Sitte, jede Geborgenheit und Unschuld verlorengeht."
I had forgotten how scarily relatable Steppenwolf is..."
page
31
I had forgotten how scarily relatable Steppenwolf is..."
July 27, 2019
–
54.68%
""Eine Stunde Nachdenken, eine Weile in sich gehen und sich fragen, wie weit man selber an der Unordnung und Bosheit in der Welt teil hat und mitschuldig ist - sieh, das will niemand! Und so wird es also weitergehen, und der nächste Krieg wird von vielen Menschen Tag für Tag mit Eifer vorbereitet."
The famous nausea of those who saw it coming in the 1920s already without wanting it to happen..."
page
152
The famous nausea of those who saw it coming in the 1920s already without wanting it to happen..."
July 28, 2019
–
Finished Reading
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message 1:
by
Julie
(new)
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rated it 3 stars
Jul 28, 2019 08:44AM
![Julie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1509454384p1/14773738.jpg)
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![Lisa](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1480492067p1/32532774.jpg)
Very true, Julie! I find it very hard to keep my blasé concept of literature alive that I carefully developed in younger selfs... With the wrinkles, I get the doubts as well ;-)
Possibly, one goes from immersion in beauty over absolute belief in beauty to nostalgia for the illusion of beauty that one lost? And I am not speaking of beauty in a physical sense, even though it matches in a strange way: the more wolfish we feel, the more we look the part too...
![Sadie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1557910132p1/3057525.jpg)
![Lisa](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1480492067p1/32532774.jpg)
Enjoy, Sadie!!
![BlackOxford](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1484863606p1/17744555.jpg)
![Glenn Russell](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1505195595p1/23385697.jpg)
![Lisa](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1480492067p1/32532774.jpg)
I think every reader has a tiny bit of a Steppenwolfish dilemma to grapple with, Michael: after all, to read we require that solitude and independence of schedule that is part of the Harry personality, but reading will always also stimulate and create enthusiasm, which we then have to share in a wider community. Come to think of it, Goodreads probably eases the pain of quite a few partners of passionate readers :-)
![Lisa](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1480492067p1/32532774.jpg)
So happy to hear we are fellow Hesse fans, Glenn! He really is quite unique! And Steppenwolf is my favourite as well.
![Ray](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1722277228p1/4908095.jpg)
I also know what you mean about re-reads, you have to be very careful that you do not tarnish fond memories from innocent times. It works with places too - I cannot go back to Norway as I will never again be that twenty year old seeing mountains for the first time.
![Lisa](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1480492067p1/32532774.jpg)
I also know what..."
I couldn't agree more, Ray!
![Ilse](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1686327155p1/22848274.jpg)
![Lisa](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1480492067p1/32532774.jpg)
Sounds like a great project, Ilse! I am happy to join, even though I am also in silly denial of the aging body, thus showing my teenage spirit that has lost its beauty but retains the stubbornness ;-)
![Peter](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1516912354p1/63168028.jpg)