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megansianedwards 's review for:
Steppenwolf
by Hermann Hesse
Our book club has been running for around seven years now, with three of the original founding members still going strong. We meet every six weeks or so, and alternate who gets to pick the book each time. We never pick a book any of the group have read and like alternating genres and mixing up easy reads with books that we think will challenge us.
Steppenwolf, a 1930s modern classic by German author Hermann Hesse, definitely comes steppenwolfinto the second category for me. The protagonist is Harry Haller, a loner who struggles with depression and seems to be making it through life only by promising himself he will commit suicide on his 50th birthday. The book moves from a short point of view opening section by Haller's new housemate, to be narrated by Haller himself, with a 40 page interlude of an unnamed omniscient narrator, who tells Haller's story for him.
Simply put: I did not care for this book. It is deeply philosophical, so therefore most of it went way over my tiny brain. I don't need everything in a book to be literal (I thoroughly enjoyed Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle), but I need it to make some kind of sense to me. Parts of the book I did derive pleasure from reading. The opening narrator was amusing and interesting and the large part of the book told by Haller himself, before he heads off to the masked ball that signals the climax of the book and the height of the metaphorical waffling, actually reminded me of Fitzgerald in style. Not my favourite, but perfectly readable. The third party narrator section was about as intelligible as Woolf or Joyce for me (spotting a trend in what I don't like reading...?!) and the hallucinogenic nature of the closing ball made it very clear why a 60's culture had embraced this book with such fervour. The bizarre relationship between Haller and a girl he meets halfway through the book, Hermine, kept my attention, as she tries to lift him from his depression by tempting him with the sensual joys of life. I found it very interesting that the women in the novel were depicted as strong characters and there was no judgement of them for using their bodies in barter to achieve what they wanted. This book was written by a male in the 1930's and this was a progressive attitude towards women.
For a book club pick, this was an excellent choice. We meet tonight to discuss it and I'm very much looking forward to talking about the themes that come out in the novel: gender, sexuality, humanity, morality, death, depression and more. Would I have kept reading this if it wasn't a book club pick? Highly unlikely. I give this only 2 out of 5 for a rating, because I didn't enjoy the process of reading it. However, in terms of expanding my mind and reading outside of my comfort zone, this certainly ticked a few boxes!
Steppenwolf, a 1930s modern classic by German author Hermann Hesse, definitely comes steppenwolfinto the second category for me. The protagonist is Harry Haller, a loner who struggles with depression and seems to be making it through life only by promising himself he will commit suicide on his 50th birthday. The book moves from a short point of view opening section by Haller's new housemate, to be narrated by Haller himself, with a 40 page interlude of an unnamed omniscient narrator, who tells Haller's story for him.
Simply put: I did not care for this book. It is deeply philosophical, so therefore most of it went way over my tiny brain. I don't need everything in a book to be literal (I thoroughly enjoyed Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle), but I need it to make some kind of sense to me. Parts of the book I did derive pleasure from reading. The opening narrator was amusing and interesting and the large part of the book told by Haller himself, before he heads off to the masked ball that signals the climax of the book and the height of the metaphorical waffling, actually reminded me of Fitzgerald in style. Not my favourite, but perfectly readable. The third party narrator section was about as intelligible as Woolf or Joyce for me (spotting a trend in what I don't like reading...?!) and the hallucinogenic nature of the closing ball made it very clear why a 60's culture had embraced this book with such fervour. The bizarre relationship between Haller and a girl he meets halfway through the book, Hermine, kept my attention, as she tries to lift him from his depression by tempting him with the sensual joys of life. I found it very interesting that the women in the novel were depicted as strong characters and there was no judgement of them for using their bodies in barter to achieve what they wanted. This book was written by a male in the 1930's and this was a progressive attitude towards women.
For a book club pick, this was an excellent choice. We meet tonight to discuss it and I'm very much looking forward to talking about the themes that come out in the novel: gender, sexuality, humanity, morality, death, depression and more. Would I have kept reading this if it wasn't a book club pick? Highly unlikely. I give this only 2 out of 5 for a rating, because I didn't enjoy the process of reading it. However, in terms of expanding my mind and reading outside of my comfort zone, this certainly ticked a few boxes!