Steppenwolf

Hermann Hesse

When I first read Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse I was a senior in college and going through all the typical ups and downs, crises and experiments, searches and losses, and conflicts common to my generation. Harry Haller, the protagonist, was a character with whom I could really identify. Haller was struggling to reconcile his wild, wolf like nature with his reclusive, intellectual, rational self. I thought the "Magic Theater" as described in this novel held the key to fulfillment in life. Recently my 25-year-old son read the book and responded very positively to the poetic elements and glimmers of truth in this remarkable work.

In the author's note, written by Hesse in 1961 (the book was written in 1927 when Hesse was 40 years old), he states: "Poetic writing can be understood and misunderstood in many ways. In most cases the author is not the right authority to decide on where the reader ceases to understand and the misunderstanding begins… " Hesse goes on to explain that surprisingly (at least to him) this book seems to be better understood by youthful readers than readers in their 50's, even though he wrote the book when he was 40 and Harry Haller, the main character, is a man at least 40 years old and perhaps older.

My advice is very simple. No matter how old you are, you should read or, as I have recently done, re-read this book. It remains, in my opinion, one of the greatest short novels of all time. Hesse's ability to synthesize the East and the West, and his Jungian insights make him a unique artist from his or any generation.

Review by Len Oppenheim