Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Bantam (1971), Edition: 2nd, Mass Market Paperback, 314 pages
Description
Narcissus and Goldmund is the story of a passionate yet uneasy friendship between two men of opposite character. Narcissus, an ascetic instructor at a cloister school, has devoted himself solely to scholarly and spiritual pursuits. One of his students is the sensual, restless Goldmund, who is immediately drawn to his teacher's fierce intellect and sense of discipline. When Narcissus persuades the young student that he is not meant for a life of self-denial, Goldmund sets off in pursuit of aesthetic and physical pleasures, a path that leads him to a final, unexpected reunion with Narcissus.
User reviews
LibraryThing member ctpress
This novel reads like a fairy-tale, a mythic story, a parable, very poetic and similar in style as Siddhartha.
It's a story about the differences between the mind and the heart, reason and passion, science and nature. Goldmund is a young man who becomes friends with his teacher Narcissus in a
Quite early in the novel Goldmund leaves the monastery and sets out to seek the pleasures of the world, he becomes a seducer, a womanizer, a murderer and he becomes a slave of his passions - a wanderer not able to find peace and rest in anything.
But the friendship with Narcissus never leaves his mind....I guess I shouldn't reveal more of the story for those who want to read it.
I have mixed feelings about this novel that has a very melancholic mood. I didn't get involved in it like Siddhartha. Both Narcissus and Goldmund lacks something to become whole characters as they seem more to represents an idea, a concept - Goldmund is in most part of the story unbearable egoistic and leaves a trail of broken hearts. He's not at all pleasant to spend so much time with. The novel is strong when Narcissus and Goldmund are together and they are interacting. When Goldmund is alone it lacks a nerve or interest for me. But the ending is powerful. Sad but true.
The novel speaks to me about the importance of having a balance between mind and heart, reason and passion. Extreme in both direction leads to ruin. It's an eternal struggle mankind is involved in.
It's a story about the differences between the mind and the heart, reason and passion, science and nature. Goldmund is a young man who becomes friends with his teacher Narcissus in a
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catholic monastery school. Narcissus is the theological thinker, all logic and intellect - and Goldmund is the artist, brimming with passion and emotion.Quite early in the novel Goldmund leaves the monastery and sets out to seek the pleasures of the world, he becomes a seducer, a womanizer, a murderer and he becomes a slave of his passions - a wanderer not able to find peace and rest in anything.
But the friendship with Narcissus never leaves his mind....I guess I shouldn't reveal more of the story for those who want to read it.
I have mixed feelings about this novel that has a very melancholic mood. I didn't get involved in it like Siddhartha. Both Narcissus and Goldmund lacks something to become whole characters as they seem more to represents an idea, a concept - Goldmund is in most part of the story unbearable egoistic and leaves a trail of broken hearts. He's not at all pleasant to spend so much time with. The novel is strong when Narcissus and Goldmund are together and they are interacting. When Goldmund is alone it lacks a nerve or interest for me. But the ending is powerful. Sad but true.
The novel speaks to me about the importance of having a balance between mind and heart, reason and passion. Extreme in both direction leads to ruin. It's an eternal struggle mankind is involved in.
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LibraryThing member blake.rosser
I love Hesse, one of my favorite authors ever. Not only is the spirtualism/sensualism dichotomy (which forms the major theme of all of his works) one of the more interesting philosophical questions of mankind, but I can't think of any author who has continually revealed his own personal neuroses
One of the more fascinating thought exercises related to Hesse is studying his works as attempts to reconcile these two aspects of life: the ethereal, divine and ecstatic with the corporeal, material and sensual. As brilliant as he was, he never figured out how to do it completely, which is what makes all of his novels ultimately unsatisfying. The interesting part, however, is that each successive novel comes closer to the answer, so that Demian feels by far the least developed, and while Hesse realizes "Nirvana" in Siddhartha, it never feels authentically earned. Steppenwolf feels altogether more on the right track before devolving into a psychedelic madhouse (perhaps precisely because he didn't know where next to take it?), and then Narcissus and Goldmund and The Journey to the East get even closer to the ultimate reconciliation while still falling short. The Glass Bead Game is by far the most developed of his novels and gets tantalizingly close to a "solution" for this problem, but it still leaves the reader vaguely grasping at the "how" of Hesse's prescription.
As obsessed as Hesse was with this issue, he was never able to solve it, and it leaves us with the suspicion that it is an insoluble problem, perhaps THE insoluble issue of humanity. His books are so enjoyable, though, precisely because nobody has ever taken up the question with such earnest seriousness. All of his books leave us unsatisfied, but upon further thought one concludes that they are unsatisfactory only because they so unerringly reflect the great human predicament: the paradox of the divine animal. **Full Disclosure: I can no longer remember concretely, but I suspect that I owe a lot of credit for this analysis to Colin Wilson, from his fantastic The Outsider.**
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and self-doubts through their characters. This quality has always provoked a certain empathy, admiration, and even self-recognition when I read his books. As someone concerned with those important questions of life, I can identify with his characters, and, because his characters are so autobiographical, I feel like I can consequently identify with Hesse himself.One of the more fascinating thought exercises related to Hesse is studying his works as attempts to reconcile these two aspects of life: the ethereal, divine and ecstatic with the corporeal, material and sensual. As brilliant as he was, he never figured out how to do it completely, which is what makes all of his novels ultimately unsatisfying. The interesting part, however, is that each successive novel comes closer to the answer, so that Demian feels by far the least developed, and while Hesse realizes "Nirvana" in Siddhartha, it never feels authentically earned. Steppenwolf feels altogether more on the right track before devolving into a psychedelic madhouse (perhaps precisely because he didn't know where next to take it?), and then Narcissus and Goldmund and The Journey to the East get even closer to the ultimate reconciliation while still falling short. The Glass Bead Game is by far the most developed of his novels and gets tantalizingly close to a "solution" for this problem, but it still leaves the reader vaguely grasping at the "how" of Hesse's prescription.
As obsessed as Hesse was with this issue, he was never able to solve it, and it leaves us with the suspicion that it is an insoluble problem, perhaps THE insoluble issue of humanity. His books are so enjoyable, though, precisely because nobody has ever taken up the question with such earnest seriousness. All of his books leave us unsatisfied, but upon further thought one concludes that they are unsatisfactory only because they so unerringly reflect the great human predicament: the paradox of the divine animal. **Full Disclosure: I can no longer remember concretely, but I suspect that I owe a lot of credit for this analysis to Colin Wilson, from his fantastic The Outsider.**
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LibraryThing member astrologerjenny
This is more a parable than a novel, but worth reading. Two boys become friends in a cloister. Narcissus lives in the mind: cool, detached, ascetic, religious, disciplined, logical. He sacrifices everything for his principles. Goldmund leaves the cloister to become a vagabond, and roams through the
Hesse was a huge influence on my generation, the flower children. Perhaps he's discovered again in every new generation, at the time when he's most needed. His perennial question is: how does one live without killing the spirit within? This book poses it again.
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world, living in tune with his instincts. He is spontaneous, emotional, sensual, sometimes violent. At the end of the book, they come together again. Hesse was a huge influence on my generation, the flower children. Perhaps he's discovered again in every new generation, at the time when he's most needed. His perennial question is: how does one live without killing the spirit within? This book poses it again.
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LibraryThing member Cecrow
Hesse seems to set out exploring the question of which life is superior: a quiet and safe one of study and the accumulation of knowledge, or the embracing of risk and adventure? Narziss and Goldmund are like Hesse split in half, each half exaggerated into a full person, or either half of a
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sympathizing reader: the reasoning calm self (Narziss), and the fun-loving emotional portion (Goldmund). I expected a more back-and-forth approach, but it's almost entirely Goldmund's story and it emerges that what Hesse is actually comparing is the intellectual world with the real one, where only the spiritual can bridge the divide. He allocates art to being stimulated by a fulsome indulgence in life experience rather than as an intellectual exercise, and into this I read Hesse's opinion on the genesis of his writing. I come away feeling unaffected by the critique of my approach to my own life; but that last bit about art intersecting with the spiritual, and what actually feeds it, is something to mull over. Show Less
LibraryThing member Stbalbach
The power of beauty of this novel blew me away. It's like a perfectly cut diamond whose many facets and perspectives dazzle the more it is examined. What one gets from it (or not) will depend on the viewer as much as the viewed. I wish I had read it earlier in life.
LibraryThing member trilliams
It's Hesse throwing the struggle of living for the mind and living for the senses at you for 300 pages (eh, maybe not in the middle 100). The duality of being is a heavy topic. Can man ever be Narcissus AND Goldmund? No matter which side you align with, you find yourself pining for the other. Well,
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back to the cloister.... Show Less
LibraryThing member MathMaverick
This is one of the best books I've read. As with most of Hesse's books, it is very readable and thought provoking. This is the story of two individuals, Narcissus and Goldmund. Narcissus of the mind and Goldmund of the body. Each are in search of themselves, very much a Nietzche concept of becoming
Throughout the book, there are numerous passages that inspire contemplation and reflection. In additon, there are numerous characters (e.g. Marie, Rebeka) outside the title-bearers that have very interesting views and actions.
This book is highly recommended. However, I recommend reading it after you've read Beaneath the Wheel, Demian, Siddhartha and Steppenwolf (in that order). These books provide insight as to Hesse's individual journey and development. Again, just a great book!
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who you are. Most of the book details Goldmund's journey (roaming the world with desire and curiousity), experiences and conquests (sensual and intellectual). The two worlds meet at the end, neither is judgemental (as dominiates our modern day life), but understanding of the other. In the end, Goldmund is overtaken by events (i.e. age). Both realize their love of the other.Throughout the book, there are numerous passages that inspire contemplation and reflection. In additon, there are numerous characters (e.g. Marie, Rebeka) outside the title-bearers that have very interesting views and actions.
This book is highly recommended. However, I recommend reading it after you've read Beaneath the Wheel, Demian, Siddhartha and Steppenwolf (in that order). These books provide insight as to Hesse's individual journey and development. Again, just a great book!
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LibraryThing member linda-irvine
Very interesting perspective at beginning on how females respond to violence.
LibraryThing member GaryPatella
Decent book, but certainly not Hesse's best. But I guess when he wrote this he was satiated. And I was satiated when I read it. And Goldmund hooked up with women and was satiated. And made a statue and was satiated. And was satiated after pretty much everything he did.
I am a fan of Hesse, but this
I am a fan of Hesse, but this
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one fell short. And if you haven't figured it out from my review, the word "satiated" is used WAY too much. Show Less
LibraryThing member hbergander
The clearest example in Hermann Hesse's oeuvre treating the antinomy of asceticism and extraversion in two close friends
LibraryThing member sfisk
A great book, time for me to re-read it I think
LibraryThing member poetontheone
A tale about the friendship between an ascetic monk and a sensual wanderer that juxtaposes the realms of disciplined thought and unrestrained indulgence, showing the reconciliation of the two through art. A mad, beautiful, and dangerous work. My favorite Hesse novel in equal standing alongside
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Demian. Show Less
LibraryThing member ragwaine
Beautiful writing, a bit repititous, cool philosophy
LibraryThing member TakeItOrLeaveIt
my favorite Hesse. a dynamic story between two young men one an explorer and one who stays home trying to find himself. wonderfully written.
LibraryThing member Leonard_Seet
Goldmund could not fit into the Mariabronn Monastery anymore than a square peg could fit into a round hole and soon left the cloister for the vagrant life. By sleeping in the woods, killing Viktor the thief, meeting the plague, studying under Meister Niklaus and romancing with Lydia and Julie, Lene
On the other hand, at home in Mariabronn with the chestnut tree and knowing that his way differs from that of Goldmund, Narziss, isolated from the flesh’s pleasure and pain, lived out the monastic life, praying, meditating, searching for enlightenment through intellectual and ascetic disciplines. The way of the mystic was for Narziss as much as the way of the artist was for Goldmund.
Hermann Hesse, throughout his life, sought Goldmund’s artistic way--the emotional, prodigal, active, and sensual path--but ended up with Narziss’s mystical way¾the intellectual, disciplined, contemplative, and ascetic path.
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and Agnes, he explored the sensual life as an artist. When Agnes rejected the old man that he was, he returned to the monastery to meet his friend and mentor Narziss before leaving the world. On the other hand, at home in Mariabronn with the chestnut tree and knowing that his way differs from that of Goldmund, Narziss, isolated from the flesh’s pleasure and pain, lived out the monastic life, praying, meditating, searching for enlightenment through intellectual and ascetic disciplines. The way of the mystic was for Narziss as much as the way of the artist was for Goldmund.
Hermann Hesse, throughout his life, sought Goldmund’s artistic way--the emotional, prodigal, active, and sensual path--but ended up with Narziss’s mystical way¾the intellectual, disciplined, contemplative, and ascetic path.
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LibraryThing member yogipoet
so long ago now i can't remember much about it. went through a Hesse phase. i'd still recommend most of his work.
LibraryThing member Leonard_Seet
Goldmund could not fit into the Mariabronn Monastery anymore than a square peg could fit into a round hole and soon left the cloister for the vagrant life. By sleeping in the woods, killing Viktor the thief, meeting the plague, studying under Meister Niklaus and romancing with Lydia and Julie, Lene
On the other hand, at home in Mariabronn with the chestnut tree and knowing that his way differs from that of Goldmund, Narziss, isolated from the flesh’s pleasure and pain, lived out the monastic life, praying, meditating, searching for enlightenment through intellectual and ascetic disciplines. The way of the mystic was for Narziss as much as the way of the artist was for Goldmund.
Hermann Hesse, throughout his life, sought Goldmund’s artistic way¾the emotional, prodigal, active, and sensual path¾but ended up with Narziss’s mystical way¾the intellectual, disciplined, contemplative, and ascetic path.
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and Agnes, he explored the sensual life as an artist. When Agnes rejected the old man that he was, he returned to the monastery to meet his friend and mentor Narziss before leaving the world. On the other hand, at home in Mariabronn with the chestnut tree and knowing that his way differs from that of Goldmund, Narziss, isolated from the flesh’s pleasure and pain, lived out the monastic life, praying, meditating, searching for enlightenment through intellectual and ascetic disciplines. The way of the mystic was for Narziss as much as the way of the artist was for Goldmund.
Hermann Hesse, throughout his life, sought Goldmund’s artistic way¾the emotional, prodigal, active, and sensual path¾but ended up with Narziss’s mystical way¾the intellectual, disciplined, contemplative, and ascetic path.
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LibraryThing member charlie68
Excellent prose and exquisitely written, a book to bathe in, metaphorically speaking. A trip through late Middle Ages Germany,?, and an accurate one.
LibraryThing member HadriantheBlind
Another excellent work by Hesse. The duality of spirit and the contrast between the artistic and intellectual selves.
LibraryThing member terena
Set in Europe during the Black Plague, two friends try to survive and understand the meaning of life in two very different ways. One becomes a priest, the other a wanderer and sensualist. Both are profoundly affected by the death which surrounds them and both ask the question, "Does God exist?"
LibraryThing member ikkyu2462
One of Hesse's better novels - an exploration of art, scholarship and religion. Jungian in terms of light and shadow. Historical details are an added bonus.
LibraryThing member alwright1
I enjoyed thinking about and revisiting this novel while I was reading it and after, but more to negate it than internalize it. So while I found it useful and interesting, and discussed it with many people, I haven't given it many stars. (It makes me wonder if I should rearrange my rating
First and foremost among my problems with this novel is its treatment of gender. His romanticizing the fickle, creative, emotional, uncontrollable nature of the feminine borders on the silly. The dichotomy between the wildness of women and the dry, scholarly air of masculinity was not insightful or interesting; it was embarrassing.
And so it was throughout the novel, the two halves that the characters represented were too extreme to represent any kind of wisdom. Those who feel that both paths lead to enlightenment puzzle me, because both men are troubled near the end, and accepting one's death does not necessarily enlightened make. (I was reading Smoke Gets in Your Eyes around the same time, and that led to a much more death positive outlook than consideration of death at the hands of either of the ruling entities in this story.)
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system...)First and foremost among my problems with this novel is its treatment of gender. His romanticizing the fickle, creative, emotional, uncontrollable nature of the feminine borders on the silly. The dichotomy between the wildness of women and the dry, scholarly air of masculinity was not insightful or interesting; it was embarrassing.
And so it was throughout the novel, the two halves that the characters represented were too extreme to represent any kind of wisdom. Those who feel that both paths lead to enlightenment puzzle me, because both men are troubled near the end, and accepting one's death does not necessarily enlightened make. (I was reading Smoke Gets in Your Eyes around the same time, and that led to a much more death positive outlook than consideration of death at the hands of either of the ruling entities in this story.)
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LibraryThing member Gary-Bonn
Stunning. The two main characters explore their own spirituality, one intellectually - the other simply lives it. It's not the most popular Hesse - but absolutely my favourite. Be prepared for a mind-boggling ending.
LibraryThing member dbsovereign
A novel about balancing our many selves so that we can live life more fully. And about friendship, love, and happiness. One of Hesse's best that caught the attention of the flower children back in the day.
LibraryThing member BooksForDinner
Not my favorite Hesse, a bit of a dry go early on, but still magic as all Hesse is... wonderful in its investigation of art vs. logic, not only between the two characters, but within Goldmund himself.
Language
Original language
German
Original publication date
1930
Physical description
312 p.; 6.8 inches
ISBN
0553058681 / 9780553058680