Peter Camenzind: A Novel [Paperback]

Hermann Hesse (Author), Michael Roloff (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1988

Peter Camenzind, a young man from a Swiss mountain village, leaves his home and eagerly takes to the road in search of new experience. Traveling through Italy and France, Camenzind is increasingly disillusioned by the suffering he finds around him; after failed romances and a tragic friendship, his idealism fades into crushing hopelessness. He finds peace again only when he cares for Boppi, an invalid who renews Camenzind’s love for humanity and inspires him once again to find joy in the smallest details of everyday life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Moving and profound. Hesse is a writer of suggestion, of nuance, of spiritual intimation.”—The Christian Science Monitor

About the Author

Hermann Hesse was born in Germany in 1877 and later became a citizen of Switzerland. As a Western man profoundly affected by the mysticism of Eastern thought, he wrote many novels, stories, and essays that bear a vital spiritual force that has captured the imagination and loyalty of many generations of readers. His works include Steppenwolf, Narcissus and Goldmund, and The Glass Bead Game. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946. Hermann Hesse died in 1962.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; First Edition edition (October 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374507848
• ISBN-13: 978-0374507848
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,862,774 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars not spectacular but clear, June 17, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Peter Camenzind: A Novel (Paperback)

i'm from germany, sitting in the town, hesse wrote peter c. and I read it yesterday in english. first, it's a great translation. but I think, the book is very european, so, whenn you read it in usa or elsewhere, you got a good feeling of the living art of the "schwarzwald"(black forest), where the author came from. and you stay in the chance of the century, so I think, p.c. is today an historical and social adventure,more than a spectacular novel. but just for younger poeple between twelve and twentysomething, p.c. can help to find their way, hardly as deep as the famous siddhartha do

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Liberation through love, April 9, 2002

By 

Chris Planer (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Peter Camenzind: A Novel (Paperback)

Hermann Hesse is a superb writer. This book is very good for a first novel (and very good for a novel, period). I have read all of Hesse's major novels except Gertrude and I can honestly say that none of them moved me in the way which this book did. Hesse's description of the yearnings of one's soul are always stirring. But the story of the narrator's relationship with the hunchback, Boppi, is unforgettable. To claim that Peter did not find what he was looking for and that "he does not enjoy life", as one reviewer claims, is absurd. It completely misses Hesse's point. Anwyays, read the book and find out for yourself -- don't take my word for it.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable, March 16, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Peter Camenzind: A Novel (Paperback)

I've read all works of Hesse that I could find during my teenage years. I read them not as books but as a starving person would devour delicious food.

I have not yet encountered another book (Hesse or not) that is as striking as Peter Camerzind. That's partly because I had some tough times during my teenage years and in Peter C. Hesse is 100% realistic to me.

It's been 12-13 years that I had not read Hesse again with maybe with one or two exceptions. As I said before, I read Hesse when I was a teenager and I had no intentions to analyze, criticize or whatever ! There are too many people who go into to analytical descriptions of Hesse's works. Don't do it. I do not think that Hesse's works are intellectual. I doubt he is after anything intellectual, rational or analytical. It could be the opposite ! Forget about the feeling you had while reading, do you think a wolf wandering in the steppes would philosophize ?

I felt Peter Camerzind deep in my heart. That's all I have to say.