The Glass Bead Game

By: Hermann Hesse

Narrated by: David Colacci

Length: 21 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Set in the 23rd century, The Glass Bead Game is the story of Joseph Knecht, who has been raised in Castalia, which has provided for the intellectual elite to grow and flourish.

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).

©1990 Hermann Hesse (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks America

Long and boring

I appreciate what was trying to be conveyed, and maybe over time this story will resonate with me and I'll have to come back and rate it higher. If I couldn't have listened to it at 1.5 or 2x speed, I don't think I would have gotten through it.

Written beautifully but deceptive

This book was chosen in my book club as a difficult piece of literature to read, and it certainly was that. Reading in the historical context of the time written helped to add depth as well as understanding the philosophical bent of the author but still hard to digest. Enjoy the reading brought to life nicely by a combination of the oral presentation and the foreword.

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.

Brilliant

What did you love best about The Glass Bead Game?

The elusiveness of comprehension. The moment one thought one understood the Glass Bead Game another perspective was thrown in. Is it a game or an allegory regarding our pedestrian life?

What did you like best about this story?

The use of language is like a beautiful song. The setting - Castalia a utopia for the intellectually gifted. The allusion to homosexuality. For instance, the desirability that some of the boys/men had to knecht and Knecht's strong attractions to some of his acquaintances all presented as asexual encounters.

Have you listened to any of David Colacci’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No I have not, but would like to. I love his voice.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, I listened several chapters at a time.

Any additional comments?

Very well done.

fabulous!

another amazing book by Hesse. It took more than half the book before I was really into but he nails it by the end.

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.

A Superb Mind Bender: Hesse’s The Glass Bead Game

My first “reading” of this audio book. A slow and powerful artistic and intellectual meander through a mythical landscape: I will return. Would love to hear the more recent translation too.

A complicated book to over simplify life

My humble opinion regarding the situations depicted in this book is: Life is actually complicated

Language, depth, becoming

One of the best of a genre! Recommended to all from a master of inner(inward) odyssey!

A wonderfully contemplative book

I’ve read Glass Bead Game twice before, and this third listen via audiobook is equally as magical. It is the literary equivalent of a picturesque, sensorially evocative, and slightly strenuous perfect hike through a bright and fragrant forest.