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The Glass Bead Game
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 21 hrs and 17 mins
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Siddhartha is Nobel Prize-winning author Hermann Hesse's most famous and influential work, a novel of self-exploration that will linger in your mind and spirit for a lifetime. A young man, blessed with loving parents and a safe home in a world where want and neglect abound, leaves this haven in search of himself.
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Harry Haller is a sad and lonely figure, a reclusive intellectual for whom life holds no joy. He struggles to reconcile the wild primeval wolf and the rational man within himself without surrendering to the bourgeois values he despises. His life changes dramatically when he meets a woman who is his opposite, the carefree and elusive Hermine.
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Vowing at an early age "to be a poet or nothing at all", Hermann Hesse rebelled against formal education, focusing on a rigorous program of independent study that included literature, philosophy, art, and history. One result of these efforts was a series of novels that became counterculture bibles that remain widely influential today. Another was a body of evocative spiritual poetry. Published for the first time in English, these vivid, probing short works reflect deeply on the challenges of life.
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My favorite of Hesse's novels, wonderfully read.
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Here is the dramatic story of young, docile Emil Sinclair's descent - led by precocious schoolmate Max Demian - into a secret and dangerous world of petty crime and revolt against convention and eventual awakening to selfhood.
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Based on thousands of pages of typed and handwritten notes, journal entries, letters, and story sketches, The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick is the magnificent and imaginative final work of an author who dedicated his life to questioning the nature of reality and perception, the malleability of space and time, and the relationship between the human and the divine. Edited and introduced by Pamela Jackson and Jonathan Lethem, this is the definitive presentation of Dick’s brilliant, and epic, work.
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The Sound and the Fury is the tragedy of the Compson family, featuring some of the most memorable characters in literature: beautiful, rebellious Caddy; the manchild Benjy; haunted, neurotic Quentin; Jason, the brutal cynic; and Dilsey, their black servant. Their lives fragmented and harrowed by history and legacy, the character’s voices and actions mesh to create what is arguably Faulkner’s masterpiece and one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century.
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At the beginning of his career, Joseph Campbell developed a lasting fascination with the cultures of the Far East, and explorations of Buddhist and Hindu philosophy later became recurring motifs in his vast body of work. However, Campbell had to wait until middle age to visit the lands that inspired him so deeply. In 1954, he took a sabbatical from his teaching position and embarked on a year-long voyage through India, Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and finally Japan.
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What a journey!
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Publisher's summary
Since childhood, Knecht has been consumed with mastering the Glass Bead Game, which requires a synthesis of aesthetics and scientific arts, such as mathematics, music, logic, and philosophy, which he achieves in adulthood, becoming a Magister Ludi (Master of the Game).
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Climate activist Shirley Watts has dedicated her entire life to protecting the planet for future generations. But constantly fighting for Mother Earth has taken its toll over time, leaving her in a precarious relationship with her adult daughter, Lela. When Shirley’s latest climate stunt lands her in serious legal jeopardy, Lela reluctantly lets Shirley stay with her and her boyfriend while awaiting her upcoming trial.
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Excellent story
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Ghost Stories: Stephen Fry's Definitive Collection
- By: Stephen Fry, Washington Irving, M.R. James, and others
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
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As the days grow shorter and the temperature drops, Halloween approaches. Come, brave listener, pull up a chair, and spend some time with master storyteller Stephen Fry as he tells us some of his favourite ghost stories of all time, in truly terrifying spatial audio. From the headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow to the tortured spirits of M.R. James, from Edgar Allan Poe’s terrifying tale of a doppelganger to Charlotte Riddell’s Open Door that should definitely stay shut, join Stephen as he tells you some truly terrifying tales.
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Wonderful narration. Mediocre stories.
- By Michael Fuchs on 11-07-23
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Find Her
- By: Sarah A. Denzil
- Narrated by: Catrin Walker-Booth
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
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It’s Christmas Day at Wilder House, and three magical winter weddings are set to begin. But as the tables are arranged, and the food is prepared, a perfect storm hits, cutting every guest from the rest of the world. Most little girls dream of the perfect wedding. But this bride stumbles alone into the snow, her silk train dragging through dirt, her hands bloody from the murder she just committed. Now there is at least one killer roaming the unforgiving landscape surrounding Wilder House. Who else will die on Christmas Day?
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a little bit of wicked fun
- By A. Bohn on 01-25-24
By: Sarah A. Denzil
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The Bedroom Window
- By: K. L. Slater
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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My darling little boy Albie adores playing at our new neighbours’ house. And after the terrible year we’ve had, I feel so lucky that we can start over in this perfect place, with new friends who treat Albie like the son they never had. He can’t stop talking about the tree house they’re building him, and the cookies they bake together. But as time passes, something starts to feel wrong. Why don’t they ever open the front door more than a crack? They told me they had no children so who does the small pink tricycle I saw in their hall belong to?
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Miss Lucy-price Lewis
- By Angie on 06-07-23
By: K. L. Slater
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The reading is quiet and heavenly
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A pre-Great War, gnostic, Jungian bildungsroman.
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Siddhartha is Nobel Prize-winning author Hermann Hesse's most famous and influential work, a novel of self-exploration that will linger in your mind and spirit for a lifetime. A young man, blessed with loving parents and a safe home in a world where want and neglect abound, leaves this haven in search of himself.
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Very Interesting to Listen
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i came here because of kpop
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Hermann Hesse's Journey to the East is an account of a geographic and spiritual journey to the East. The narrator, H.H. accompanies the members of a secret society on a journey through both time and space in search of the “ultimate truth”. Fun and entertaining at first, the company falls apart in a deep mountain gorge called Morbio Inferiore when the servant Leo disappears, triggering anxiety and strife. The members each go their own way, and many years later when the narrator tries to write his story of the ill-fated trip, he is unable to put together a coherent account.
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Great Book, Strange Performance
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Es war einmal einer namens Harry, genannt der Steppenwolf. Er ging auf zwei Beinen, trug Kleider und war ein Mensch, aber eigentlich war er doch eben ein Steppenwolf..." Harry Haller verzweifelt an sich selbst. Wie kann er sich einerseits nach Kunst und Schönheit sehnen und andererseits so dunkle, animalische Triebe besitzen? Dem Selbstmord nah, lernt er Hermine, eine Kurtisane, kennen.
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Good book
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The story of a youthful pilgrimage that seemingly failed. As the book opens, the narrator is engaged is writing the chronicle of this remembered adventure - the central experience of his youth. As he becomes immersed in retelling the chronicle, the writer realizes that only he has failed, that the youthful pilgrimage continues in a shining and mysterious way.
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Herman Hesse is one of my favorite.
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Das Glasperlenspiel
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Der Klassiker erstmals als ungekürzte Lesung. Josef Knecht hat es im altehrwürdigen Orden Kastalien bis zum angesehenen Magister Ludi, zum Meister des Glasperlenspiels, gebracht. Dieses Spiel vereint in sich das Wissen und die Künste der ganzen Welt. Wir begleiten den jungen, hochbegabten Waisenknaben Josef Knecht auf seiner Laufbahn durch alle Stufen der Ordenshierarchie bis zu dem Punkt, an dem in ihm eine weitreichende Erkenntnis reift.
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Beyond Expectation
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Hermann Hesses Suche nach dem Sinn des Lebens. Peter Camenzind wird in einem Dorf in den Schweizer Bergen geboren. Er liebt das Bergsteigen und die Beobachtung der Natur. Doch er möchte ein Mann des Verstandes werden und zieht dafür in die große Stadt, wo er als sich als Schriftsteller verdingt.
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Siddhartha, a story based on the early life of Gautama Buddha, is concerned with the human search for self-knowledge and authentic spirituality. Hesse had written the first part of the book easily enough, but had to stop for a year with depression, before completing it in 1922. The book is a synthesis of Buddhist, Hindu, Taoist, and Christian thought, though Hesse rejected all conventional religion for a more individual and personal path.
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One of tye best Hesse novels.
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Der Roman spielt im 6. Jahrhundert vor Christus in Indien und handelt von einem jungen Brahmanen namens Siddhartha und seinem Freund Govinda. Von seinem Vater und anderen Priestern lernt dieser über die Veden, deren philosophische Gedanken, religiöse Gebote und Anleitungen zu Gebeten und Ritualen. Weil er sieht, wie diese trotz heiliger Waschungen und Gebete zur Reinigung von den Sünden nicht aus dem Samsara entkommen, widmet er sein Leben der Suche nach dem Atman, dem All-einen, das in jedem Menschen ist.
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It's in German and I've now got a German audiobook
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By: Hermann Hesse
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Siddhartha
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This compelling spiritual quest by Hermann Hesse, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946, is considered one of the most important works of 20th century fiction. Siddhartha's search for enlightenment leads him to the river of life itself. On his journey he learns from many teachers: the ascetic Samanas, the all-knowing Gotama the Buddha, Kamala the lovely courtesan, and Vasudeva the simple ferryman.
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Choosing an audio version of Siddhartha
- By Scott on 02-08-10
By: Hermann Hesse
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Death in Venice
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Published on the eve of World War I, a decade after Buddenbrooks had established Thomas Mann as a literary celebrity, Death in Venice tells the story of Gustave von Aschenbach, a successful but aging writer who follows his wanderlust to Venice in search of spiritual fulfillment that instead leads to his erotic doom.
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Brilliant gem
- By L. Fish on 09-18-04
By: Thomas Mann
What listeners say about The Glass Bead Game
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Michael
- 01-02-13
Great – but be warned
This is an excellently written book but is much more an exploration of the ideas around the life of the mind than it is a novel. The first part of the book is written as a future history of an individual player of the glass bead game and (like most histories) has rather weak characterization and story. Instead this history is used to explore philosophical ideas around thought and knowledge, belief and religiosity, and education and learning. If you are looking for a light science fiction story, this is not the book for you! If you have read Jung, Nietzsche & Mann you will likely appreciate the allusions to their ideas. If you love German histories and philosophers, you will likely love this book. The last chapter of the book leaves the historical narrative format and is touching. This is followed by the inclusion of three fictional stories written by the fictional protagonist. These are very nice and have the spirit of parables or religious teaching stories. The stories are only linked by their common exploration of the life of the mind. This is a great book, but many a reader may likely wonder what the heck is going on.
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62 people found this helpful
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- Marie-Louise
- 05-26-11
Modern Spirituality devoid of Magic Tricks
Someone I met, was saying about Hermann Hesse that he did not wish to read his book as he perceived them to be new age litterature. This is such a misunderstanding of the beautiful universe of wisdom and thoughtfulness to which Hesse invites his readers. As a strong atheist - Hitchen like, I am very suspicious of any author who inflicts upon us superstitious fallacies. This is far from being the case of Hesse. The spiritual essence of his books is truly modern and devoid of supernatural claims. He is not concern with magics or miracles but with the true nature of being human experience.
It had been a while since I've read a book by Hesse, and reading the Glass Bead Game felt like rediscovering an old friend. This book being its masterpiece, I shall say it was quite a reunion. In the Glasse Bead Game explore the tension between Joseph Knecht's love for his art and realization that he is hiding in an ivory tower avoiding the real world, its dangers but also its wonder.
I highly recommend Hesse to anybody looking for a spiritual experience devoided of the cheap magic tricks of «New age» culture. Hopefully, Hesse shows us the way of a modern spirituality.
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39 people found this helpful
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- Darwin8u
- 02-13-14
Surrender to the Magister Ludi's Game
I remember reading Hesse's 'Siddhartha' and 'Narcissus and Goldmund' right out of high school. There was something both disquieting and uniquely calming about these strange little books that Hesse wrote detailing his love and fascinating with Eastern thought and philosophy. I figured this year I would read the 'Glass Bead Game' (and later 'Steppenwolf'). It is in many ways GBG is Hesse's subtle answer to the growing Fascism in his country. But, at its heart, it isn't an anti-Fascist book. He is aiming for more. He is thinking bigger.
It is a book about harmony and the arts. The exploration of how music, mathematics, intellecutalism and life can become transcendent and beautiful. GBG is a mysterious fill-in that allows it to be at once none and all of man's endeavors. It is a holy raga, a tactile masbaha, a literary syncretism, that captures the whole of man's achievements and is practiced by an elite few. Using the framework of the Game Hesse is able to look at the dynamic of all of man's achievements as being both beautiful, worthwhile, but also frivolous and fleeting. He looks at the tension between those who remove themselves from mankind's experiences with those who live IN the world. There is a pull and a reciprocity between these two groups. He is looking for those things that balance those groups and ultimately those things that cause these groups to separate.
The book also explores the (mostly) Eastern ideas of meditation, surrender, loss and renewal. I found these ideas (obviously) beautiful and rewarding, but I'm still not sure if I really liked the structure of the book: Part 1 (pages 7-44): Introduction to GBG; Part 2 (Pages 45-427): Magister Ludi's story; Part 3 (428-445): Magister Ludi's poems; Part 4 (446-558): The Three Lives (other incarnations of Magister Ludi). I'm just not sure if the structure worked for me. It did well enough, but I loved and hated it too. Maybe that was Hesse's intention. The first part was a parody of those 'history of the saints' that appear so often and so frequently in all religious traditions. It was interesting, but just didn't mix well with the final parts of the novel. I did like having Knecht's (re)incarnations be outside of time. While Magister Ludi was set in the future, the other incarnations of Magister Ludi were more likely from the past. An interesting construct, but the weight of the last was too little for the heavy front.
But all measured out these are frivolous issues. For the most part, I really liked the book. It is incredible that in the face of WWII and Nazi Germany Hesse could write this. History and inevitable burning push of evil must have seemed dark and heavy, but ultimately this book (written from 1931 to 1943) contains the germs of peace and tranquility. I think that peace comes from the idea of a spiritual retreat (a common theme) and surrender. Hesse wasn't saying to run from Evil, although he did himself leave Nazi Germany. But I think his book was communicating the ability to find peace through surrendering to one's own situation and place in the universe. GBG one day will disappear, but so too ONE DAY will fascism and evil, because all of man's creation is a game. So, surrender to the game and surrender to the universe.
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35 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Mirek
- 01-10-10
A false dream ...
It is the last work of Herman Hesse, and his "Magnum Opus". In some sense the book is philosophical science-fiction, though there are no typical elements of sci-fi genre. The author predicts that the period in human history will come when the knowledge became wide-spread and popular, with multitude of authors writing multitude of stories. This period, called "The Age of Feuilleton" was highly individualistic. The main feature of the age was the passionate search of freedom.
At this moment comes the main prophecy of the book. Hesse predicts that on the ashes of the feuilletonistic age, new movement is born. The purpose of the order is the cultivation of science and music. The order cultivates highly elitist structure and its rule is as strong as the rules of religious orders. It also includes meditation and contemplation. The culmination of the order achievement is the synthesis of all sciences and music in an instrument called "glass bead game". A game, was a like a symphony but with deep scientific background. The main character of the book, Joseph Knecht, after swift carrier, becomes the chief Glass Bead Game custodian and player. The most of the book is about his life and his path - first to the order of Castalia, than through the rungs of the order hierarchy - to the startling decision to leave the order, and become "awaken" to the everyday life ...
Despite the end of the Jospeh Knecht story - Hesse, through the entire book, demonstrates the admiration to the concept of intellectual elitism, to the notion of "intellectual order" to the medieval concept of hierarchical knowledge, well organized, and integrated with the quintessence of art - with the classical music.
In some sense the Hesse prophecy is dangerous...
We no longer need "mental elite" - the current culture proved to be vibrant and precious. The human knowledge can, and is built, by millions of people, and we do not need any orders.
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26 people found this helpful
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- D. Raynal
- 10-30-12
One of Mankind's Best Books
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
It is not enough to say that this is a GREAT story for it's depth, wisdom and beauty are so evident that each word of Hesse's award winning novel moved me into places that only a true master could so magically conjure. I loved the reader as well and felt that the entire production was perfect. Thanks audible for providing such a service.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Glass Bead Game?
The masterful way in which Hermann Hesse concluded his story. It was pure genius.
Have you listened to any of David Colacci’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Too many to mention. But the story of how Knecht sacrificed himself was brilliantly conceived.
Any additional comments?
To me this book has been a favorite of mine for years and each time I read (and in this case listen) I am moved to new levels of just how vulnerable we are as humans and just how beautiful each of us plays out our unique role.
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20 people found this helpful
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- David
- 11-25-16
Long, tedious, unfulfilling
I love the German language (what little I remember of it). But my experiences with German literature, at least in translation, have not been salutary. I bounced off Thomas Mann, and this is my second attempt with Hermann Hesse. I found Steppenwolf to be interesting and bizarre, but mostly full of pretentious wankery, and The Glass Bead Game, which is ostensibly a future biography of the master of an intriguing game and intellectual order, was more like 19 hours of boredom which I finished only out of a completionist desire to mark it on my checklist of books finished.
Supposedly set in the 23rd century, this book is in no way science fiction, except under the loosest definition, as the world described shows no evidence of advanced technology or social advancement - it is essentially our world in an alternate history in which an academic order known as the Castalia coexists with the Catholic Church and produces philosophers and intellectuals who engage in abstruse dialectics and subtle social positioning for reasons that only matter to the internal mental states of the participants. The "glass bead game" after which the book is named is really just a plot device to seed the premise of the book - inasmuch as the book has a plot, which it doesn't, really.
The main character is a man named Joseph Knecht, and most of the book is a fictional future biography of Knecht, who (in the 23rd century) became revered as as the Magister Ludi of the glass bead game and Castalia. Following his progression from gifted young student to Magister Ludi, who then steps down from his exalted position, over the opposition of the Castalia, The Glass Bead game might be read as a bildungsroman, though I have read elsewhere that it's actually more of a parody of a bildungsroman. I can see how this book could be satirizing the form of the bildungsroman, but as far as wit or humor, there was none evident to me. The lengthy, detailed accounts of Knecht's upbringing, his interactions with fellow students, teachers, and mentees, who engage in long-winded philosophical exchanges with him, and his decision to eventually retire as Magister Ludi, when there is no mechanism or precedent for a Magister Ludi to retire.
Castalia, as described in the book, is the very epitome of an ivory tower - academics go to Castalia, are supported by taxes from the outside world, and spend all their time pondering heavy thoughts or playing the glass bead game. Knecht is eventually swayed by arguments with a schoolmate from his younger days, and a Catholic clergyman later in life, that Castalians should not withdraw from the world, but use their intellectual gifts for the benefit of others.
Very deep and intellectual. Also very, very boring.
As a casual, lapsed go player, who loved the novel Master of Go, I was more interested in the glass bead game itself. Hesse must have been inspired in part by go when he created this fictional game, but the glass bead game is only described abstractly - like go, it is a "lifestyle" game for those who truly dedicated themselves to its mastery, and it embodies everything from philosophy to mathematics, and music. The actual rules and mechanics of the game are never described, though, and despite being referenced throughout the book, in its relationship to Castalia and the outside world, the game really doesn't have much to do with the story.
The biography of Joseph Knecht ends abruptly, and the latter part of the book contains several poems and stories supposedly written by the fictional protagonist. The stories are alternative incarnations of Knecht, written as if he had been born as a prehistoric shaman, an early Christian hermit, and an Indian prince.
All of this was very detailed, thoughtful, literary, and intellectual. And very, very boring.
I'm sure I missed oceans of meaning, but The Glass Bead Game just disappointed me on every level. I'm giving it 2 stars because 1 star would be an insult - I can recognize the literary merit of the work. But as far as enjoying it or ever wanting to revisit it, I find that about as unlikely as my ever wanting to read another book by Hermann Hesse.
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- William
- 03-11-16
Severely Outdated and Self Absorbed
Would you try another book from Hermann Hesse and/or David Colacci?
I read Siddhartha and liked it. After this, I am leery of investigating Hesse's other work. Colacci did an acceptable job.
What could Hermann Hesse have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
I have read Hesse's Siddhartha. It was engaging and interesting, especially as a consideration of an adult Westerner's interpretation of Eastern Gnosticism. The Glass Bead Game is widely praised though not particularly widely known today. I expected a thoughtful philosophical text that mused on the role of education and intellectualism in repelling the rise of fascism.
Instead, I read a long-winded diatribe utterly convinced of its own cleverness. And it was, frankly, boring. I would like to say that this view is the result purely of my contemporary diet of literature where sliding narrative, constructed framing devices, and aside discussions of ideological issues are relatively commonplace. These things are all practiced in Star Trek for Gods' sake. But I cannot. Hesse did not invent, nor did he perfect these techniques.
Hesse's fascination with Eastern mysticism becomes outright fetishism in this text, with a seeming endorsement of the I-Ching as a problem solving tool. The general idea of greater emphasis on enshrining rational thought in society is defeated by the pointless and Pyrrhic death of the main character, halfway through the book. The codas are pointless and preachy, effectively repeating the main story three times! He should have stopped navel-gazing at some point and taken some sort of stand or argued some hypothesis.
If the book is neither purpose-driven, nor entertaining, the only reason to read it is historical curiosity.
What aspect of David Colacci’s performance would you have changed?
None
What character would you cut from The Glass Bead Game?
The 3 extra lives of Knecht
Any additional comments?
More than I care to take the time to discuss here.
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- Jan
- 11-07-10
Then and Now
I thought this book was Classically, Epic-ly great when I read it in the 70's. YUCK! Couldn't even get through the first half on a long road trip with plenty of time to get through the over-the-hump of introduction. Philosophy 101 it isn't. Not even Philosophy for Dummies. More like -- there are no people in the world, only rules and regulations that take 99,000 pages to explain & justify.... I think I may have remembered it more fondly if I hadn't read other books addressing philosophical questions that were more interesting, more character-filled. Not available on audio - M A Foster's Gameplayers of Zan, which reminds me to mention M K Wren's Wolfe/Phoenix trilogy, Available on audio - Heinlein's Time Enough for Love or The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Okay, not strictly philosophy, but characters & ideas. Not just ideas!!
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- Patrick Barney
- 12-21-18
Very challenging but also very interesting.
I felt like this was a hard read--or rather, listen. Narration was fine, not distracting, but not brilliant either. Thematically very engaging but also very puzzling. Hesse seems to fully accept two contradictory positions on hierarchy: that it is both problematic and necessary. Then everything is complicated by the fact that the novel is told in the form of a biography, with sources that may or may not be of dubious authenticity. This novel is like a puzzlebox that reveals layers and layers and the layers are infinite and you never find out if they have a bottom.
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- Guilherme
- 05-21-11
Great book. Not so great narrator.
The book is great... no doubt it was the apice of Hesse's work... I confess the narration was not so inspiring, and rather dull at times.. But worth my time, and credit.
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