Harry Haller is a middle-aged man in a German city who sees himself as half human and half wolf, torn between bourgeois life and wild instincts, and unhappy with both. He is on the verge of suicide when he finds a pamphlet, the Treatise on the Steppenwolf, which describes him. He then meets Hermine, a woman who introduces him to dancing, jazz and the pleasures he has avoided, and to Pablo the saxophonist and Maria. The book builds to the Magic Theatre, a hallucinatory space where Harry meets the many selves in his personality. Hermann Hesse wrote it in 1927.
It is intended for readers who like introspective, philosophical novels about alienation and identity. People who feel out of step with their society, or who are interested in Jungian ideas, will likely find it a rich if challenging book.
Deep, inward-looking, open-ended and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?
- ISBN
- 9786066090919
- Language
- RO
