A Brief Book Review: Hermann Hesse's 'Steppenwolf' (1927)

Book: Steppenwolf (1927)

Author: Hermann Hesse

5/5 Stars *****

Today's brief book review is on an extraordinary piece of German literature that you may or may not have heard of, and that I personally consider to be a classic. The book is Steppenwolf (originally published in German in 1927, and translated to its English-publication first in 1929), and its author was German-born Swiss poet/novelist/painter Hermann Hesse. Now I wasn't around pre-1980's but I have heard from my elders that this book quickly became a staple in many personal-libraries following its publication in 1927. The Steppenwolf is one of Hesse's alter-ego's (so to speak), and we discover the tale of a man who is past his prime, single, and struggling to find a reason to keep living in Germany as it is clearly ramping up for World War II. Hesse explores his animalistic side, his spiritual side (although if you read the book you know that is a gross over-simplification) where he is gripped by a constant internal struggle as his consciousness awakens and the dying egoic self becomes more and more dysfunctional with its approaching collapse. I can relate to Hesse's writing as it becomes clear to me, as the reader, that much of his story comes out of personal-spiritual-psychosomatic experiences. If I go into it too much it starts to become abstract, and so I will tell you now that if you enjoy the writings of Aldous Huxley or Carlos Castaneda, then you will find that Hesse and Steppenwolf come from a similar exploration of existential-existence and experience that somehow connects the trans-personal to the personal in a brilliant manner. Also, Hesse's biographic is quite interesting but I will keep it brief. Now I am just trying to be a fancy-pants here, but seriously, check out this book, and if you are confused after reading it, do not fret, because you are not alone in that experience...it is after all exquisitely existential!