Demian

«Demian» — a philosophical novel, dark and mystical. It can also be considered autobiographical — this is stated by Hesse in the preface. A landmark work that had a tremendous impact on the further creativity of the writer, and the... great Thomas Mann compared this book to «The Sorrows of Young Werther». It is the story of a young man's coming of age and development, who gradually shifts away from the hypocritical norms of public morality and more clearly discovers his profound, dark «self» — free, unaffected by the prevailing virtuous pharisaism surrounding him. A mysterious friend, Demian — bearer of the «mark of Cain», is of assistance in this journey, neither a devil nor a mysterious deity, nor simply a product of the hero's imagination…