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Narcissus and Goldmund (Mass Market Paperback)

by Hermann Hesse (Author), Ursule Molinaro (Translator)
Key Phrases: cloister life, Master Niklaus, Father Anselm, Abbot Daniel (more...)

4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (81 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Hesse's novel of two medieval men, one quietly content with his religion and monastic life, the other in fervent search of more worldly salvation. This conflict between flesh and spirit, between emotional and contemplative man, was a life study for Hesse. It is a theme that transcends all time. The Hesse Phenomenon "has turned into a vogue, the vogue into a torrent. . .He has appealed both to. . . an underground and to an establishment. . .and to the disenchanted young sharing his contempt for our industrial civilization."--The New York Times Book Review

From the Publisher
Hesse's novel of two medieval men, one quietly content with his religion and monastic life, the other in fervent search of more worldly salvation. This conflict between flesh and spirit, between emotional and contemplative man, was a life study for Hesse. It is a theme that transcends all time. The Hesse Phenomenon "has turned into a vogue, the vogue into a torrent. . .He has appealed both to. . . an underground and to an establishment. . .and to the disenchanted young sharing his contempt for our industrial civilization."--The New York Times Book Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Bantam (February 1, 1984)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0553275860
ISBN-13: 978-0553275865
Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (81 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #36,353 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in this category: (What's this?)
#9 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( H ) > Hesse, Hermann

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Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
cloister life

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Master Niklaus, Father Anselm, Abbot Daniel, Father Martin, Brother Narcissus, Master Nildaus, Count Heinrich, Goldmund Have, Master Goldmund

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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Citations (learn more)

90 books cite this book:

The Hesse/Mann Letters by Hermann Hesse on 6 pages
Classic Cult Fiction: A Companion to Popular Cult Literature by Thomas Reed Whissen on 4 pages
Some Chose to Stay: Faith and Ethics in a Time of Plague by Alan C. Mermann on 4 pages
Essence and Alchemy: A Book of Perfume by Mandy Aftel on page 163, and Back Matter
The Culture of Sexism (Human Evolution, Behavior, and Intelligence) by Ignacio L. Gotz on page 13, and Back Matter

See all 90 books citing this book

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	69% buy the item featured on this page: Narcissus and Goldmund 4.7 out of 5 stars (81) $7.50
	12% buy Narcissus and Goldmund: A Novel 4.6 out of 5 stars (9) $10.20
	7% buy Siddhartha 4.4 out of 5 stars (483) $5.95
	7% buy Steppenwolf: A Novel 4.4 out of 5 stars (141) $10.98

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Customer Reviews

81 Reviews

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (81 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A voyage of re-discovery, May 1, 2000

By	David H (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

I first read Narcissus and Goldmund when I was about 20. The conflicts between mind/heart, reason/passion, intellect/emotion were the fulcrum around which my personal voyage of self-discovery turned - at that age.

Now, at 42, I have reread this book. I never appreciated the first time 'round that Hess was describing a completed life. I was too fixated on Goldmund's emancipation through travel. But in the end, after his return to the cloister to create true art, Goldmund hit the road again. He tried in vain to recapture youth only to be spurned by Agnes, the woman he considered to be the most beautiful - and the most like himself. This was a classic description of what we now call the "mid-life crisis".

Neither Narcissus nor Goldmund ended up truly happy, I believe. But that is not the point at all. There was a mutual recognition of the richness in their separate lives. And there was a love and a respect for those differences.

As we all grow up it is these deeper lessons that Hess seeks to impart to us. I'm glad I picked up this excellent book once again and am not surprised to see other reviewers who have done the same with similar results.

A book for living dangerously, and fully.

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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An unjustly neglected masterpiece, September 4, 2002

By	D. C. Cannon "dcannon661" (Rockville, MD USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Like most people, I read Hesse's better known novels like Damien and Steppenwolf first. I found a copy of this at a used book store, bought it, and let it sit on the bookself for a while before actually reading it. Was I surprised - this is one of Hesse's greatest novels.

Hesse takes two young men - one devoted to the hermetic religious life and another more into the decadent artistic life - and follows them through adulthood. There are some amazing scenes here - scenes of great artistic creation, a journey through a plague ravaged world, the reunion of the two friends - that rank among the best things Hesse ever wrote.

True the characters are more "types" than real three dimensional characters. It is obvious that Hesse wants to examine the spiritual/cerebral approach to existence versus the more artistic/physical approach to life, and to find them both wanting. This is less a slice of life novel than a modern parable. Taken on those terms, this novel is Hesse at the height of his powers and deserves to be better known and read than it currently is.

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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Beauty that Aches, January 30, 2002

By	"philstud" (New Lebanon, NY United States) - See all my reviews

_Narcissus and Goldmund_ by Hermann Hesse is the story of two men: one an ascetic scholar, the other a passionate student of life. The book chronicles their fateful meeting, Goldmund's pursuit of truth and beauty, and a final reunion of the two friends late in life. It is quite simply the best book I've read thus far. In it, I find artfully and poignantly demonstrated the central conflict of my life, perhaps of all life: the struggle between the intellect and the emotions. The book is best read as a juxtaposition of both of these motivators in our lives. Narcissus represents pure intellect and reason, while Goldmund represents pure emotion and passion. Neither one could truly exist in the world, but Hesse creates them as archetypes of these two motivators in all humans. The struggles they encounter in understanding each other, and the struggles Goldmund encounters in making sense of the world, help us to better understand these two sides of our own character. The struggle teaches us of the beauty that aches, and friendship that knows no bounds. In this conflict one can ultimately find the beauty of truth, and the truth of beauty.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Had A Major Impact On Me
Now in my 50s, I was recently reflecting on all the books I have ever read. I asked myself, "Which book had the biggest influence on me?" The answer came to me immediately. Read more

Published 20 days ago by Ford R. Myers

5.0 out of 5 stars The duality of body and mind, Narcissus and Goldmund is the conflict between the contemplative vs. the emotional man
This was one of my favorite novels in my late teens. I was struggling withy my sexuality and was extremely stimulated by the love between the two main characters... Read more

Published 5 months ago by Carlos T. Mock

3.0 out of 5 stars Not so good.
I couldn't remember if I'd read this or not when a friend lent it to me to stave off a night of boredom. I hadn't, at least not all of it. Read more

Published 10 months ago by Una

5.0 out of 5 stars a true work of literature.
This book is a wonderful philosophical book that shows the contrast between feelings and thoughts.While reading I was was confronted by quite a number of necessary metaphysical... Read more

Published 21 months ago by Neghat Sathi

5.0 out of 5 stars A transient's mentality, dilemmas and possible arrivals
Hesse's account of how many of your inclinations get enamored by each other's possible arrival. A dilemma in each young thinker's mind taken as far as it went and presented as a... Read more

Published on July 5, 2007 by Ankur Verma

3.0 out of 5 stars Great adolescent book, weak adult book
I put this book in the same category as Kerouac's "On The Road" - a great, adolescent adventure story (and one that inspired me when I was an adolescent). Read more

Published on March 4, 2007 by Daniel Mackler

4.0 out of 5 stars Art, sex, death
This was one of my favorite novels in my late teens and early twenties. Ostensibly it is about two medieval seminary friends personifying opposite poles of being: Narcissus, the... Read more

Published on February 8, 2007 by Christopher Nelson

5.0 out of 5 stars Quintessential Hesse
Hesse is widely loved for a number of things: the themes he addresses, the often unexpected light he casts on them, and the detail with which he develops his characters and their... Read more

Published on March 19, 2006 by Daniel Raphael

5.0 out of 5 stars His friend awakened him- the world and wandering molded him.
_This is the story of two very different young would-be monks in the medieval cloister of Mariabronn. Narcissus was a lunar type- introverted, a thinker and a scholar. Read more

Published on March 10, 2006 by OAKSHAMAN

5.0 out of 5 stars Narcissus and Goldmund
I believe Hermann Hesse was in full form and at the height of his writing prowess when he wrote this ambitious novel.
The book is about two medieval friends. Read more

Published on January 15, 2006 by Zenbones

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