Narcissus and Goldmund

I suggest two books by Hesse - Siddhartha / Narcissus and Goldmund.

Agree, but would also list Narcissus and Goldmund. Am I the only one that found something of value in that book? People never seem to mention it.

I had a contrasting experience with Hesse. Narcissus and Goldmund was really influential on me. It made me realize that life doesn't have to be about buying stuff and fucking the same woman for the rest of my life. It drove me to travel and experience many things. Through that process I gained perspective you just can't get by being stuck in an office working so you can buy shit you don't need, most of the time advancing the subliminal competition your wife is in with her girlfriends.

Narcissus and Goldmund is probably my favorite of Hesse's novels, but also great is The Glass Bead Game.

War and peace by Tolstoi. It made me aware that someone as successful and powerful as Napoleon himself was by a large extent only a product of the people and the mood at the time. What I mean is that it wasn't him who inspired the people; it rather was just the Zeitgeist he was the perfect person for. I'm not a native speaker and can't really put it into words, but it completely changed my view of the amount of influence we really can have in this world, and how much we are a product of our time. Narziß und Goldmund by Hesse. Again a lack of words from my side. Whoever is looking for meaning in life should read this book. The last sentence of this book is (at least in German) the literary most perfect and awakening phrase I've ever read. I couldn't sleep for days afterwards.

To add to that, Narcissus and Goldmund was also a quite influential book.

Fiction - Narcissus and Goldmund by Hermann Hesse. Contrasting the lives of a free spirit and a disciplined mind. Non Fiction - A Time of Gifts/Between the Woods and the Water/The Broken Road by Patrick Leigh Fermor. Recounting a trip from Holland to Constantinople by foot in the 1930's when he was a teenager. A trilogy of books written when he was in his 60's and 70's. An erudite raconteur.

_dt47, if you like it read everything else from Hesse (continue with Steppenwolf, Narcissus and Goldmund, The Glass Bead Game). Right now, as late night reading, i'm in the midst of the sprawl trilogy of Gibson, i read Neuromancer more than a few years ago and now i'm checking out the rest. Other than this, i started "Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies", but i'm quickly getting bored.

Adding more: Siddhartha - Hermen Hesse Narcissus and Goldmund - Herman Hesse The Glass Bead Game - Herman Hesse The Consolations of Philosophy - Alain de Botton A Brief History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson Politics and The English Lanaguage (essay) - George Orwell A Modest Proposal (essay) - Jonathan Swift

Demian - Hesse Narcissus and Goldmund - Hesse Man's Search for Meaning - Viktor Frankl

Most books by Hermann Hesse, really... Narziss&Goldmund changed my perspective on life. If you have anything artistic in you, it's a must-read. Steppenwolf, Siddharta and the Glass Bead Game are other must-reads. Gabriel Garcia Marques, One hundred years of solitude. Practically all of Jorge Luis Borges' short stories. Mind-bending. Milan Kundera's Unbearable Lightness of Being. Michael Ende's Never Ending Story. Enjoy!