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Lisa's Reviews > Der Steppenwolf
Der Steppenwolf
by
by
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
Comments Showing 1-14 of 14 (14 new)
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by
Julie
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rated it 3 stars
Jul 28, 2019 08:44AM
I left him when the pendulum had swung back only half way, Lisa. It was interesting to see that you followed the same trajectory, so my mind tells me I'm due for a re-read, to find the things I first found in him , in my late teens. Funny that the older we get, the younger we get. Thanks for this reminder.
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Julie wrote: "I left him when the pendulum had swung back only half way, Lisa. It was interesting to see that you followed the same trajectory, so my mind tells me I'm due for a re-read, to find the things I fir..."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...
Yet another of my literrary shortcomings: I haven't read any Hesse yet, despite Siddharta being a part of my to-read-shelf for ages. But I'll get to Der Steppenwolf soon enough, my partner just finished it and I love having book chats with him (he's not the biggest and/or fastest reader, so once he's finished something, I need to catch up fast). Fun fact: He read the same edition as the one you shelved here, the cover felt familiar even before I read the title.
Sadie wrote: "Yet another of my literrary shortcomings: I haven't read any Hesse yet, despite Siddharta being a part of my to-read-shelf for ages. But I'll get to Der Steppenwolf soo..."Enjoy, Sadie!!
I too apparently have repeating periods of childhood, or at least youthful enthusiasm. My wife is a very tolerant person.
Thanks so much for this personalized account of Steppenwolf, Lisa. Like yourself, I go back and forth with Hesse on many of his novels but, for me, Steppenwolf has always remained the gem I never tire of revisiting. Must of read/listened to the audio book a dozen times.
BlackOxford wrote: "I too apparently have repeating periods of childhood, or at least youthful enthusiasm. My wife is a very tolerant person."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 :-)
Glenn wrote: "Thanks so much for this personalized account of Steppenwolf, Lisa. Like yourself, I go back and forth with Hesse on many of his novels but, for me, Steppenwolf has always remained the gem I never t..."So happy to hear we are fellow Hesse fans, Glenn! He really is quite unique! And Steppenwolf is my favourite as well.
Not read Hesse in a long time, but as a callow youth I read everything by him that I could find. I followed him on a journey from north German coming of age to eastern mysticism. 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.
Ray wrote: "Not read Hesse in a long time, but as a callow youth I read everything by him that I could find. I followed him on a journey from north German coming of age to eastern mysticism. I also know what..."
I couldn't agree more, Ray!
Inspirational review, Lisa! It happened to provide me with a project to start when I'll round another decade - rejuvenating not by silly denial of the aging body but, even if tricky, returning to the novels I loved most decades ago, thank you :-).
Ilse wrote: "Inspirational review, Lisa! It happened to provide me with a project to start when I'll round another decade - rejuvenating not by silly denial of the aging body but, even if tricky, returning to t..."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 ;-)
Wonderful review, Lisa, I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on this book and its connection with modern life.
Peter wrote: "Wonderful review, Lisa, I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on this book and its connection with modern life."Thanks, Peter!
