I've read Siddhartha twice and found Steppenwolf opposite in many ways. Whereas Siddhartha was closely organized in chapters that corresponded to Buddhist truths and paths, this is basically a long drug addled diary entry. Also while Siddartha is set in ancient India and seeks spiritual perfection this is about seeking earthly delights in the author's contemporary German speaking realm. Despite the setting, it's much more difficult to grasp than Siddartha.

There is a brief introduction by the finder of the manuscript, some sort of literary device to present an objective description about the protagonist's stay in the nondescript town where the "story" takes place before you delve into the mad subjectivity of the "author".

The "story" in the first half builds up the lone wolf image and this tension between it and modern middle class society. Then in the second half it tears it down and smashes it into a thousand pieces. I got the message that the personality isn't easily divided into 2 or 3 parts, but is made up of thousands of different strands and types.

I can see how some people could relate to the intellectual lone wolf of the first half or the hedonistic counter culture party animal of the second half. Or both. And this book is deeply immersed in the German culture of the time - I'd need to understand better Jung, Nietzsche, Mozart, et al. as well as the Indian influence on German culture to have more clarity, though I think that part lack of clarity was intended. So this book didn't really speak to me in a way. However, I appreciated the journey and am interested in more.