The Prodigy [Hardcover]

Hermann Hesse (Author), W.J. Strachan (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1988

The Prodigy, originally dating from 1905, is Hermann Hesses's bitter indictment of conventional education. It is the story of Hans Giebenrath, the brilliant young son of provincial bourgeouis in southern Germany who becomes the first boy from his town to pass into a prestigious Protestant theological college. His spirit, however, is systematically broken by his parents and teachers; over anxious about his success, they forget to consider his health and happiness. Subsiding into a fatal apathy, he is taken home for medical reasons. Here he falls in love, becomes an engineer's apprentice, learns to drink alcohol, and eventually dies by drowning. Out of his attitude to the treatment that he perceived was common within the German schooling system at the turn of the century, Hesse developed his own deeply personal views on the value of Eastern education in developing the self.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A gentle and insidiously persuasive plea for the flight from academicism and the re-establishment of the simple values of the workman’s life."  —Sunday Times

"It is unusual for a writer to begin with sincerity alone and to advance to a more complex apprehension of life without surrendering his pristine innocence. This has been Hermann Hesse’s achievement."  —Observer

"Written with deep sympathy . . . certainly makes you willing to read more of Herr Hesse."  —New Statesman

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Counted among the leading thinkers of the twentieth century, HERMANN HESSE was born in 1877. Rebelling against a stern monastic education, he worked as a locksmith and a bookseller before embarking on a 65-year writing career. Having travelled as far as India, he settled in Switzerland in 1911 in opposition to German militarism. Awarded the Nobel Prize in 1946, he died in 1963 aged eighty-five.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 188 pages
• Publisher: Peter Owen Ltd (December 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0720600308
• ISBN-13: 978-0720600308
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Hermann Hesse (1877-1962) was born in Germany 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. In 1946, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Glass Bead Game.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars the prodigy, May 13, 2003

By 

victor - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prodigy (Peter Owen Modern Classic) (Paperback)

this book felt like an analysis of my life. any child who was thrown into a level of the education system that could be considered above there 'class' will surely be able to relate to this story (try being a working class kid in an elitist private school!). a nice balance of captivation and realism.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Detached narrative, no humour, low action, little insight, September 21, 2003

By 

Trevor Kettlewell "trevsbookreviews" (Nowra, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prodigy (Peter Owen Modern Classic) (Paperback)

I can't handle all this detached, measured narrative without some insight to make it worthwhile. There is very little dialogue, no humour, hardly any action - just reams of detached description of an academically gifted child's seemingly unfortunate ambition (somewhat fuelled by misguided adults) driving him away from the joys of nature, work and friendship. Apart from, perhaps, the evangelical shoemaker there's no-one here to really enjoy being with, particularly as the condescendingly mature narrator always keeps us removed from them.

The kid never really gains my great sympathy, although the story is clearly meant to be tragic. The ending bluntly nails this home with much the same shortcut predictability of a `and then I woke up' finish.