Steppenwolf

by Hermann Hesse

Overview

"Steppenwolf" by Hermann Hesse is a profound and thought-provoking novel that delves into the inner struggles of a man named Harry Haller. Harry is a solitary and intellectual man who feels out of place in the world and struggles to reconcile his dual nature of being both a refined, cultured individual and a wild, untamed steppenwolf. As he navigates his existential crisis, Harry encounters a young woman named Hermine who introduces him to a world of sensual pleasures and teaches him to embrace his inner desires. But as he becomes more deeply involved in this new world, Harry's internal struggles only intensify, and he must confront the dark side of his own nature. Hailed as a masterpiece of modern literature, "Steppenwolf" is a haunting and powerful exploration of identity, sexuality, and the human condition.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789358488487
Publisher:	Happy Hour Books
Publication date:	10/13/2023
Pages:	170
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.39(d)

About the Author

HERMANN HESSE was born in 1877 in Calw, Germany. He grew to become a celebrated author and the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946. As the son of missionaries, he developed a fascination with self-discovery and spiritual explorations, an interest also likely due in part to his lifelong struggle with depression, which led him to study Sigmund Freud and, later, to undergo psychoanalysis with Carl Jung. In 1912 he moved to Switzerland, where he wrote his best-known books, including the classic Siddhartha; composed poetry; and painted landscapes. He passed away in 1962 in Montagnola, Switzerland. Hesse is one of the most widely translated authors of the twentieth century; his work continues to have influence worldwide.


Kurt Beals is associate professor of German at Washington University in St. Louis. His previous translations include works by Jenny Erpenbeck, Reiner Stach, Regina Ullmann, and Anja Utler.

Editorial Reviews

While it's good for a titter to picture Peter Weller in full RoboCop gear reading Hesse's classic novel of intellectual absorption with the primeval, it is not entirely necessary for full appreciation of his reading. Weller, who has a Midwestern folksy personability, reads Hesse less as a work of great literature than a philosophical manual, meant to be studied for personal improvement. Hesse can be forbidding, even for the teenage readers who often discover literature through him, so Weller wisely renders his novel familiar, comfortable and friendly. Currently wrapping up a Ph.D. at UCLA in Italian Renaissance art history, Weller has clearly been taking lessons in sounding professorial-entirely apropos here. (Apr.)

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Publishers Weekly

"Kurt Beals’s splendid translation of this offbeat classic succeeds at once in conveying Hermann Hesse’s German cadence in elegant English and in rendering the novel’s dissonances more accessible for our times: the ambivalent, existential, dark, humorous, and magical elements within and surrounding protagonist Harry Haller. Together with the translator’s dexterous introduction for a new generation of readers and those curious to revisit the book’s multiple layers to unravel its fascinating possibilities, it is emphatically THE Steppenwolf."

Doreen Densky

"An English-language translation that highlights both the thoughtfulness and, ultimately, the sheer personal power of the original. Beals has managed the considerable feat of making a cult classic of twentieth-century literature feel completely alive for the twenty-first."

Open Letters Monthly - Steve Donoghue

"Kurt Beals makes this 1927 classic of psychedelic dreams sparkle in new technicolor splendor. Talk to your doctor about possible side effects."

Martin Puchner

"A sharp, erudite new translation of Hesse’s moody classic."

Susan Bernofsky

"Hesse is a writer of suggestion, of nuance, of spiritual intimation."—The Christian Science Monitor

"For all its savagely articulate descriptions of torment and isolation, it is most eloquent about something less glamorous but far more important: healing."—The Guardian

From the Publisher

Hesse's philosophical novel about a loner who feels divided in his soul and alienated from life was a cult classic of the 1960s’ counterculture. Peter Weller’s voice is dry, deep, almost harsh, and through much of the book, his tone is cutting, sardonic, even angry. That's a fitting take on the protagonist, Haller, but it's too much, and the tone would be better with some variation. Weller’s voice softens when Haller interacts with others, and in some of the dialogue he brings out a rhythmic lilt that is quite engaging. While a bit uneven, by and large, Weller does this dreamlike yet dour book justice. W.M. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

OCT/NOV 08 - AudioFile