Sample
  • Demian

  • The Story of Emil Sinclair's Youth
  • By: Hermann Hesse
  • Narrated by: Jeff Woodman
  • Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (1,097 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Demian

By: Hermann Hesse
Narrated by: Jeff Woodman
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.56

Buy for $15.56

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

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

What listeners say about Demian

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    760
  • 4 Stars
    217
  • 3 Stars
    90
  • 2 Stars
    21
  • 1 Stars
    9
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    671
  • 4 Stars
    183
  • 3 Stars
    51
  • 2 Stars
    12
  • 1 Stars
    7
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    656
  • 4 Stars
    163
  • 3 Stars
    77
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    10

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

amazing. eerie and thought provoking.

I recommend this book to all people but don't play it in the middle of the night all alone in the dark.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

love it

easy shirt story, Herman Hesse is a very mystical writer. loved it finished in a day of work.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing

When I was a kid, this book was one of my favourite ever. Now, ages after, I bought this audiobook. I was amazed again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Demian a great introduction to Hermann Hesse

fantastic narration. ..smiled the whole time! through the main character the author clearly projects his world view

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Intriguing story, excellent reader

I devoured Hermann Hesse books when I was a teenager, and recently came up on Hesse again when my uncle gave me Siddhartha. My husband saw the book and read it too. He said he would like to read more of Hesse. So for his 65th birthday I was trying to think what would be a nice gift. Narcissis and Goldman is a little too ponderous. The glass bead game was a little over my head back then it might still be. I remember liking, but not really understanding, Demian. So I ordered it on Audible to see if that would be a good choice and a lot of it has overlap with my husband's psychology. There are some things I don't understand in this book, but maybe my husband will. No need to understand (or agree with) it all, because a lot of it resonates so well. An even better delight though is how this book is read by this reader. I love his voice inflections, his pauses, etc. which added a great deal to the story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing

It was a great book. I read it about 2 times this will be my 3rd time reading the book. At first, I didn’t think it would be a really good book but it’s absolutely stunning!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Will read again

One of those pieces that will evidently reveal more beauty the second and third time around. Not to say I didn’t walk away from this with a lot more in my mind than when I began, it’s just so stuffed that one time around does not sufficiently capture all the wise insights.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!