The glass bead game

(Magister Ludi)

558 pages

English language

Published Nov. 11, 2002 by Picador USA.

ISBN:
978-0-312-27849-6
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4 stars (27 reviews)

7 editions

Best read of the year

5 stars

Second book into Hesse’s corpus and I’m noticing Hesse has quite the obsession with the balance between ascetic intellectualism and giving in to worldly desires/instincts and nature… I like it.

He picks up on his theme of self-actualisation and discovering ‘true’ love of the world again quite well—somehow his characters feel fresh despite all their developments essentially being through the same wanderer arc? The neuroticism of some of his characters—Tegularius in specific—is finely executed and is reminiscent of Dostoevsky’s ‘troubled’ archetype.

5/5 So good I might get into Indian philosophy and a bit of Nietzsche myself…

‘World history is a race with time, a scramble for profit, for power, for treasures. What counts is who has the strength, luck, or vulgarity not to miss his opportunity. The achievements of thought, of culture, of art are just the opposite. They are always an escape from the serfdom of time, man …

Review of 'The glass bead game' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This is a book I will always have mixed feelings about. It was much better than I expected, but not without significant faults. The three short stories were revealing in their alignment with the themes of the main story. They were blunt and repetitive on those themes. Only those who conform can serve.

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