Emil Sinclair grows up in a comfortable, devout home and thinks of the world as divided in two: the bright side of his family and the dark side of the street. After a bully named Kromer blackmails him, he is rescued by Max Demian, a strangely mature older student who teaches him to question what he has been told, including the story of Cain. Under Demian's influence, Emil moves through school and university, meets the figure of Eva, and explores his own inner life. Hesse published it under a pseudonym in 1919, and Jungian ideas about the self run through it.
Teenagers and anyone going through a period of self-questioning will recognize the search it describes. It is a short, reflective coming-of-age novel.
Deep, inward-looking, contemplative, open-ended and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1999
- Publisher
- Alianza Editorial
- ISBN
- 9788420633398
- Language
- ES
