Narcissus and Goldmund

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

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

'One of his masterpieces . . . without doubt a great novel' Guardian One of Hermann Hesse's greatest novels, Narcissus and Goldmund is an extraordinary recreation of the Middle Ages, contrasting the careers of two friends, one of whom shuns life in a monastery and goes on the road, tangled in the extremes of life in a world dominated by sin, plague and war, the other staying in the monastery and struggling, with equal difficulty, to lead a life of spiritual denial. An superb feat of imagination, Narcissus and Goldmund can only be compared to such films set in medieval Europe as Bergman's The Seventh Seal and Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev . It is a gripping, profound reading experience - as startling, in its different way, as Hesse's Siddhartha and Steppenwolf .

'One of his masterpieces . . . without doubt a great novel' Guardian One of Hermann Hesse's greatest novels, Narcissus and Goldmund is an extraordinary recreation of the Middle Ages, contrasting the careers of two friends, one of whom shuns life in a monastery and goes on the road, tangled in the extremes of life in a world dominated by sin, plague and war, the other staying in the monastery and struggling, with equal difficulty, to lead a life of spiritual denial. An superb feat of imagination, Narcissus and Goldmund can only be compared to such films set in medieval Europe as Bergman's The Seventh Seal and Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev . It is a gripping, profound reading experience - as startling, in its different way, as Hesse's Siddhartha and Steppenwolf .

'This extremely beautiful novel has a ripeness and wisdom all too rare in modern literature' Telegraph 'There's a certain time in life when one needs to read Hesse' Jenny Erpenbeck With an introduction by Graham Coxon In a monastery in medieval Germany, brilliant, analytical monk Narcissus is drawn to his new student, the impulsive, charismatic Goldmund. Despite their differences in age and temperament, the two form a deep friendship, but when Goldmund rejects the monastic life and runs away to seek experience of the wider world, their bond is tested, in this plangent, limpid masterpiece, rich with the rhythms of medieval life. Goldmund pursues a sensual, picaresque existence, and Narcissus remains cloistered and controlled, but events and inclination bring them together again and again. One of literature's most moving portraits of friendship, Narcissus and Goldmund is also a powerful invitation to the reader: to explore the agony and ecstasy of life in the world, to seek the solace of contemplation, and to find the deep unity that exists within all of life's apparent contradictions. Part of the Pushkin Press Classics series: timeless storytelling by icons of literature, hand-picked from around the globe. Translated by Leila Vennewitz. Hermann Hesse (1877-1962) was born in was born in Württemberg, Germany. He resented his pious and repressive upbringing, and was determined to be 'a writer or nothing else'. His writing was greatly influenced by his travels to Asia and his friendship with psychoanalyst Carl Jung. In 1946 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Several of his novels are published by Pushkin Press Classics, including The Journey from the East, Demian and Siddhartha . Leila Vennewitz (1912-2007) was a British-Canadian translator of German literature, known for her translations of works by Heinrich Böll and Alfred Andersch, among other authors.

'This extremely beautiful novel has a ripeness and wisdom all too rare in modern literature' Telegraph 'There's a certain time in life when one needs to read Hesse' Jenny Erpenbeck With an introduction by Graham Coxon In a monastery in medieval Germany, brilliant, analytical monk Narcissus is drawn to his new student, the impulsive, charismatic Goldmund. Despite their differences in age and temperament, the two form a deep friendship, but when Goldmund rejects the monastic life and runs away to seek experience of the wider world, their bond is tested, in this plangent, limpid masterpiece, rich with the rhythms of medieval life. Goldmund pursues a sensual, picaresque existence, and Narcissus remains cloistered and controlled, but events and inclination bring them together again and again. One of literature's most moving portraits of friendship, Narcissus and Goldmund is also a powerful invitation to the reader: to explore the agony and ecstasy of life in the world, to seek the solace of contemplation, and to find the deep unity that exists within all of life's apparent contradictions. Part of the Pushkin Press Classics series: timeless storytelling by icons of literature, hand-picked from around the globe. Translated by Leila Vennewitz. Hermann Hesse (1877-1962) was born in was born in Württemberg, Germany. He resented his pious and repressive upbringing, and was determined to be 'a writer or nothing else'. His writing was greatly influenced by his travels to Asia and his friendship with psychoanalyst Carl Jung. In 1946 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Several of his novels are published by Pushkin Press Classics, including The Journey from the East, Demian and Siddhartha . Leila Vennewitz (1912-2007) was a British-Canadian translator of German literature, known for her translations of works by Heinrich Böll and Alfred Andersch, among other authors.