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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
"Most men will not swim before they are able to.” Is that not witty? Naturally, they won't swim! They are born for the solid earth, not for the water. And naturally they wont think. They are made for life, not for thought. Yes, and he who thinks, what’s more, he who makes thought his business, he may go far in it, but he has bartered the solid earth for the water all the same, and one day he will drown.”
This extract also tickles my brain
“There is no reality except the one contained within us. That is why so many people live such an unreal life. They take the images outside of them for reality and never allow the world within to assert itself.”
Harry Haller is a man who feels drawn to mundane bourgeoisie life by all its simple pleasures and orderliness, yet chooses to drift around the outskirts of society as an observer because of the sense of not being 'one of them.' He condemns bourgeoise society for its ephemeral pleasures and exalted intellectual endeavours, despite him indulging in the same activities. It was interesting to see his sanity unravel at this tension between social conformity and misanthropy.
Many of the passages are weighted with pathos - they touch the most inner depths of your soul and confront the unspeakable questions of the human psyche. It challenges the notion of 'the duality of man', instead, twisting that idea into 'the myriad personalities of man'. The wolf and the man in Harry are not mutually exclusive categories, nor are they binaries; rather, there is a spectrum of identities between them that permeate his persona. Many of these intersect. As a result, it becomes hard to entirely demarcate Harry Haller 'the man' from his bestial, wolfish side. This brings to mind the notion of being 'one, no one and one hundred thousand' that Luigi Pirandello pioneered (such a good book).
This departs from the conventional nihilistic story in that it offers a proverbial light out of the tunnel, with the mc inevitably reconciling all of his multiple, fragmented identities rather than taking life the easy way out aka offing himself (at least I hope...). I thought it was also interesting to note how Harry Haller shares his initials with the author. Perhaps the fictional mc is one facet of Herman Hesse's personality ?
The message I personally extracted from this novel is: what remains latent within us are a multitude of conflicting qualities, emotions, impulses, and desires. Thus, it would be a disservice to the complexity of our species to diminish ourselves to one singular set of traits. Just like how none of us are wholly good or evil..
PS I'm deducting a star because at times throughout the story I didn't know wtf was going on, but that's just on my ignorant behalf.
This extract also tickles my brain
“There is no reality except the one contained within us. That is why so many people live such an unreal life. They take the images outside of them for reality and never allow the world within to assert itself.”
Harry Haller is a man who feels drawn to mundane bourgeoisie life by all its simple pleasures and orderliness, yet chooses to drift around the outskirts of society as an observer because of the sense of not being 'one of them.' He condemns bourgeoise society for its ephemeral pleasures and exalted intellectual endeavours, despite him indulging in the same activities. It was interesting to see his sanity unravel at this tension between social conformity and misanthropy.
Many of the passages are weighted with pathos - they touch the most inner depths of your soul and confront the unspeakable questions of the human psyche. It challenges the notion of 'the duality of man', instead, twisting that idea into 'the myriad personalities of man'. The wolf and the man in Harry are not mutually exclusive categories, nor are they binaries; rather, there is a spectrum of identities between them that permeate his persona. Many of these intersect. As a result, it becomes hard to entirely demarcate Harry Haller 'the man' from his bestial, wolfish side. This brings to mind the notion of being 'one, no one and one hundred thousand' that Luigi Pirandello pioneered (such a good book).
This departs from the conventional nihilistic story in that it offers a proverbial light out of the tunnel, with the mc inevitably reconciling all of his multiple, fragmented identities rather than taking life the easy way out aka offing himself (at least I hope...). I thought it was also interesting to note how Harry Haller shares his initials with the author. Perhaps the fictional mc is one facet of Herman Hesse's personality ?
The message I personally extracted from this novel is: what remains latent within us are a multitude of conflicting qualities, emotions, impulses, and desires. Thus, it would be a disservice to the complexity of our species to diminish ourselves to one singular set of traits. Just like how none of us are wholly good or evil..
PS I'm deducting a star because at times throughout the story I didn't know wtf was going on, but that's just on my ignorant behalf.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Need to revisit but I just couldn’t stand it
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
5+++++
اول از همه این داستان یه داستان عادی نیست. پر از استعاره و برداشت آزاده و اگه مثل یه کتاب و داستان عادی بخونیش هیچ لطفی نداره (حتی اگه به داستانهایی با درونمایه فلسفی علاقه نداشته باشید، حوصلتونو سر نمیبره). بنظرم پیشنیاز داره، اگه قبلش یکم زندگی نویسنده رو بخونید یا با قلمش آشنا باشید به درک بهتر کمک میکنه.
این داستان مثل یه کلاس درسه. هر جمله، هر کاراکتر، هر اتفاق یه دلیلی داره و درس بزرگی بهت میده. این کتاب خیلی منو غمگین کرد (چون واقعیتو میکوبه تو صورتت) اما واقعا واقعا واقعا چیزهایی رو بهت میگه که جلوی چشمته ولی نمیبینی.
داستان راجب یه پیرمرد به اسم هاری هالره که با اینکه تحصیل کردهست و به موسیقی و فلسفه علاقه داره اما معنی دقیق زندگی و وجودیت خودشو هنوز نتونسته درک کنه و این باعث شده از آدما خیلی خیلی دور بشه و همش خواهان مرگ باشه با اینکه ازش میترسه. در طی داستان، برخلاف میل باطنی هاری، یسری اتفاقا میوفته که سعی دارن زندگی رو به هاری یاد بدن. خیییییییلی دوست داشتنی، به یاد ماندنی و قابل تامله. واقعا ازون کتابایی نیست که تند و هول هولی بخونیش. هر بخشش نیاز به تفکر عمیقی داره بنظرم.
سهتا از چیزایی که خیلی راجبش دوست داشتم اول از همه استعارههاش بود، واقعا تاثیرگذار و تعجبآور بود.
بعد اینکه انگار داری خواب میبینی همه اتفاقارو.
در آخر اینکه هرکی بجور برداشت میکنه این داستانو.
واقعاااااااا بهم چسبید و جدی بهترین اثری بود که امسال خوندم.
اول از همه این داستان یه داستان عادی نیست. پر از استعاره و برداشت آزاده و اگه مثل یه کتاب و داستان عادی بخونیش هیچ لطفی نداره (حتی اگه به داستانهایی با درونمایه فلسفی علاقه نداشته باشید، حوصلتونو سر نمیبره). بنظرم پیشنیاز داره، اگه قبلش یکم زندگی نویسنده رو بخونید یا با قلمش آشنا باشید به درک بهتر کمک میکنه.
این داستان مثل یه کلاس درسه. هر جمله، هر کاراکتر، هر اتفاق یه دلیلی داره و درس بزرگی بهت میده. این کتاب خیلی منو غمگین کرد (چون واقعیتو میکوبه تو صورتت) اما واقعا واقعا واقعا چیزهایی رو بهت میگه که جلوی چشمته ولی نمیبینی.
داستان راجب یه پیرمرد به اسم هاری هالره که با اینکه تحصیل کردهست و به موسیقی و فلسفه علاقه داره اما معنی دقیق زندگی و وجودیت خودشو هنوز نتونسته درک کنه و این باعث شده از آدما خیلی خیلی دور بشه و همش خواهان مرگ باشه با اینکه ازش میترسه. در طی داستان، برخلاف میل باطنی هاری، یسری اتفاقا میوفته که سعی دارن زندگی رو به هاری یاد بدن. خیییییییلی دوست داشتنی، به یاد ماندنی و قابل تامله. واقعا ازون کتابایی نیست که تند و هول هولی بخونیش. هر بخشش نیاز به تفکر عمیقی داره بنظرم.
سهتا از چیزایی که خیلی راجبش دوست داشتم اول از همه استعارههاش بود، واقعا تاثیرگذار و تعجبآور بود.
بعد اینکه انگار داری خواب میبینی همه اتفاقارو.
در آخر اینکه هرکی بجور برداشت میکنه این داستانو.
واقعاااااااا بهم چسبید و جدی بهترین اثری بود که امسال خوندم.
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
recommending this book to people based on the following red flags:
-claims to be too self aware for therapy
-more than 5 years out of high school but still talks about their gifted kid burnout
-low self esteem but still thinks they’re smarter and better than everyone else
-bases their worth and being on their potential and not their actions
-claims to be too self aware for therapy
-more than 5 years out of high school but still talks about their gifted kid burnout
-low self esteem but still thinks they’re smarter and better than everyone else
-bases their worth and being on their potential and not their actions
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes