Demian

The Story of Emil Sinclair's Youth

By: Hermann Hesse

Narrated by: Jeff Woodman

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. A brilliant psychological portrait of a troubled young man's quest for self-awareness, this coming-of-age novel achieved instant critical and popular acclaim upon its 1919 publication. A landmark in the history of 20th-century literature, it reflects the author's preoccupation with the duality of human nature and the pursuit of spiritual fulfillment.©1925 Fischer Verlag; 1965 Harper and Row, Publishers, Incorprated; 1948 Holt, Rinehart & Winston, Inc. (Introduction) (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks America

Great read

Great performance, it carried the prose thoughtfully. It’s a good coming of age story with a mix of fantasy and harsh realities.

Great book

No wonder that the author was able to sell more than 150 million books during the mid 1900

Amazing

Herman Hesse never disappoints. Always touches the soul and makes one rethink one’s life. Very well narrated. Thank you Jeff woodman.

From a fan of Hermann Hesse

Hermann Hesse has a way of taking one through a journey that is less about time and space, and more about ideas. in "Demian," lead character Sinclair begins in a pious German-Christian home, but ends up somewhere in the light-dark swirl of Friedrich Nietzsche, Carl Jung, and Gnosticism. Demian follows the same pattern as Hesse's book "Siddhartha," though the settings and symbols differ. the character begins unsatisfied in piety. makes his way through loneliness, and near suicide. accepts their inner darkness within. and then finds Nirvana (or Eden) in the middle. As Hesse's psychiatrist, it is apparent Carl Jung had a profound effect on Hesse.

This book is fantastic. if you're a lover of Nietzsche, Jung, or Gnosticism, you'll love this book.

Demien

A man’s sad longing for an enigmatic figure of his youth lasts through the ages. He learns the complexities of life on the way.
I read this in college, on my own, while searching for my own identity. It never struck me then how the main character, Sinclair, was almost a prototype for Holden Caulfield.
And were I smart enough at the time, I would have seen Demien as a Tyler Durden (Fight Club ) character, as cover for one’s own self-discovery and independence. Nevertheless still an enjoyable book, though seen through a different lens of an older adult.
Jeff Woodman does a fine job with the narration. His tone gave the story a different feel than I had reading it in the 90’s. I liked it.

Translator of Demian

It will really be great if the translators of the non-English books are given, either in “about title” or audio. It is something I miss with audiobooks.

The most influential book in my life

I loved it! The existencial questions this book makes you ask yourself are just the best... no matter how many times you read or listen to this you find more and more content appliable to your life.

Timeless classic!

super lowkey

so this book ended very well and way too soon. it's a solid peak into the power of meditative states. dealing with existential depression. the joy of solitude. finding a way. taking the harder path. as well as what can happen when we seek

A great book

A wonderful book that I found to be developmental and maturative for a young man coming of age such as myself. I found this book highly intelligent and worthwhile. I found great relation with the protagonist and I further highly recommend this book.

Perfection (To Me)

I have read (this time listened to) this book for the fourth time now and it never fails to hit me in different and always profound ways. It did surprise me, when I firts read it, to find out that my concerns and thoughts were shared by many other humans, as Sinclair realized. I absolutely love this novel and I can surely say that it affected in a big way my life. This review is completely subjective, I know, but this story to me is very valuable and one of the most beautiful I have ever encountered. I know it's not my story, but in a way it's feels completely mine. I wish I could meet Herman Hesse and thank him for writing such a beautiful story.