Reviews

Klingsor's Last Summer by Hermann Hesse

cathyxiao's review

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

f_a's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

lookhome's review

4.0

This collection of Hesse short stories is not his best work but it raises important questions about art, guilt and friendship.
A child's heart is about a young boy's coming of age and the ramifications of a single action. Hesse faithfully captures the throes and trauma of childhood guilt. Saying anymore may takeaway from the magic.
Klein and Wagner made me think of Steppenwolf and The Last Jedi. Read it and see if that makes any sense to you. The story is concerned with violence and regret and the all too well documented midlife crisis.
Klingsor's Last Summer was both better and worse than expected. Hesse writes sincerely about the art making process and does so in a creative way but there seems to be something lacking in the overall arc and purpose of the story. Noah Baumbach would be the perfect director for this as it has arguably influenced Greenberg, Frances Ha and the Meyerowitz Stories.
A good, not great collection of short stories.

chopilv's review

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

unlucky_lucas's review against another edition

hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

monica37's review against another edition

4.0

El libro se compone de tres relatos diferentes excelentemente contados.
En los dos primeros relatos nos trasmiten todo aquello que hace que los personajes se comporten como lo hacen y qué consecuencias tienen estos actos en ellos. Ese rumiar cerebral que nos hace muchas veces ver una realidad diferente al resto.
El tercer relato muestra el hartazgo de una vida vacía, de excesos a la que no encuentra ya sentido.
La autodestrucción podría ser el nexo de unión de los tres relatos.

julija125's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

parodysbird's review against another edition

Not my favorite Hesse but I think it marks an odd and interesting point in his live. Written in a creative rush and with a lot of passion. I feels like there are a lot of the seeds of some his later works in here (I'm mainly talking about Steppenwolf, Narcissus and Goldmund and the Glass Bead Game). If you love Hesse this is worth a read though, I think.

booklover_bev's review against another edition

5.0

Hesse returns to his theme of the tormented artist in this wonderful story. This is so beautifully written that the whole tale feels like being inside a painting - Hesse describes the scenery in minute detail, from the sounds, the smells, the rich colours, the heat. It is an intensely visual book, describing the pictures that Klingsor paints as well as the world he inhabits.
This is definitely one of my favourite Hesse books.

lestowskij's review against another edition

medium-paced

3.0