Book Report---Steppenwolf

Finally got this up here...it's kinda short, but I really didn't want to give anything away...

So for winter break I read Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse. Hesse was a German writer reknowned for novels such as Siddartha, The Glass Bead Game, and Narcissus and Goldmund. His final novel The Glass Bead Game is considered his best work, but Steppenwolf is regarded as a fine novel.

The story revolves around the character Harry Haller, a man who considers himself a "steppenwolf." This name is derived from the phrase "wolf of the steppes," but refers more to the behavior or belief of a man being both a "man" and a "wolf." The plot itself is relatively easy to understand, (a disenchanted man attempts to deal with a middle-age crisis in the time before he has set that he can kill himself) but the way it is presented causes a great deal of confusion. As the story is told from the point of view of Haller, we only understand what is going on in his head, but that is quite a misleading statement. The events of the plot unfold into an evermore confusing sense of sheer experiential overload.

Harry is meets a series of characters who begin to try and bring out his positive side, the side that wants to live. The plot culminates in a barrage of scenes that led to this book being embraced during the 60s. The psychadelic scenes create a very confusing point where the reader doesn't really understand what's real and what's not.

However, one thing is certain, this book is incredibly visceral. Every experience is meticulously described (though not on the scale of Flaubert, but I think we can all agree it is better that it isn't) in such a way that you can almost feel like you are taking this journey with the character. The version I read had a racy cover for its time period, but after reading this book, the cover is somewhat fitting. The content of this book deals with suicide, humor, sex, and the self. All of which are somewhat represented on the cover. Yet, I am glad that it gives absolutely none of the plot away, as it is amazingly written and would make little to no sense had you not followed what was going on from the beginning.

I highly recommend this book for any who want an enchanting, well-written read. The characters are so interesting and Haller's journey is one that seems to appear in almost any religious text. The plot evolves throughout the pages and definitely keeps you reading the entire time. However, this book is not without its problems. It is incredibly difficult to read at first as it is written in a very similar manner as Mrs. Dalloway, with no chapters and very view breaks. The ending is incredible, but hard to understand at first. I encourage everyone who wants to to pick up this book as an introduction to Hesse and some of his opinions. I am going to begin reading as many of his other books as possible and I believe that most who read this would do the same.