The Glass Bead Game. Journey to the Land of the East. Steppenwolf

Throughout his creative path, Hesse was occupied with reflections on the fates of the world, art, and civilization. He began working on his main novel “The Glass Bead Game” a couple of years before the fascists came to power, published it in 1943—a pivotal year of World War II—and in 1946 he received the Nobel Prize for it. In this, as Thomas Mann defined it, “joyfully mysterious book,” written in an atmosphere of universal militarization and barbarism, Hesse poses the central question: how to save individuality and the spiritual essence during a period of cultural collapse and a general decline in morals? Due to the complexity of its construction, the intertwining of numerous genre forms, and the richness of symbolism, terms, and concepts from various fields of culture, the novel was not understood and accepted by everyone but immediately sparked sharp discussions and became a spiritual guide for whole generations around the world. “Steppenwolf” is one of the most important novels of the 20th century, first published in 1927. It is both a philosophical parable and a deep exploration of human psychology, vainly attempting to find and attain its own “self,” constantly balancing on the edge of the animal and the human nature. It is a story of love that leads to an unexpected tragic conclusion, and it is also a political and social novel in which the hero appears as a fierce critic of the prevailing bourgeoisie. The publication also includes the allegorical tale “Journey to the Land of the East.”