Narcissus and Goldmund
Book - 1968
Hermann Hesse's Narcissus and Goldmund is the story of a passionate yet uneasy friendship between two men of opposite character. Narcissus, an ascetic instructor at a cloister school, has devoted himself solely to scholarly and spiritual pursuits. One of his students is the sensual, restless Goldmund, who is immediately drawn to his teacher's fierce intellect and sense of discipline. When Narcissus persuades the young student that he is not meant for a life of self-denial, Goldmund sets off in pursuit of aesthetic and physical pleasures, a path that leads him to a final, unexpected reunion with Narcissus.
Publisher:
New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, c1968
ISBN:
9780312421670
0312421672
0312421672
Characteristics:
315 p
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Add a CommentOnly Eric Rohmer's "My Night at Maud's" raises the issues of faith vrs. reason and what people really 'want.'
Hess's story and Rohmer approach the topics differently but both are classics at doing so.
My favorite of the Hess stories.
A novel set in the Middle Ages, in which we meet two characters who live very different lives. A meditation on living a balanced life. Contains a vivid description of Germany and Europe at the time of the Black Death (the plague).
Like all Hesse books this one will pull you into another world, like a giant painting that comes to life. It is beautiful, flowery, romantic, and at times tragic. The opposing lives of Narcissus and Goldmund will find their ways into your veins, and you will wonder which is more like you.