/lit/ - Literature

I just finished Narcissus and Goldmund on Wednesday - it was my first book from Hesse. All in all it is a pretty good read. You really see how much Hesse loves the lifestyle of a free mind and the struggles that come with it. Nonetheless, I expected that both completely different protagonists (the settled intellectual and the artistic vagabond) whould be compared throughout the entire novel, but it focused on Goldmund (the artistic vagabond) almost throughout the whole book.

The pacing was alright, but in some passages would be more psychologized - heh, but maybe I'm too spoiled from Dostoyevsky in this regard.

PS: I've read on this board that it is common among Hesse's works that he usually compares two opposites in his works.

>age
21
>location
Germany
>current book you're reading and how do you like it
Narcissus and Goldmund by Hermann Hesse. There are roughly 100 pages left and so far I enjoyed the book. It went against my expectations though, since I thought it would compare two thouroughly contrasting lifestyles: the lust driven vagabond against the dutiful ascetic, but it for the most part it focuses on the former so far, unfortunately not really the latter.

Pic related has become my favourite since I read it a month ago. Maybe not the best I've read, but the single book that impacted me the most.