About this title: This coming-of-age novel follows the early years of Hans Giebenrath, a sensitive and intelligent German boy sent to school at a Lutheran seminary. There he becomes close to the rebellious poet Herman Heilner, who makes Hans see how narrow his world had been. It is an understanding that comes at a high price, however, as both Herman and Hans are ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Bantam Books
Date Published: 1981
ISBN-13:9780553238372ISBN:055323837X
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. 1981 Bantam paperback. NOT EX LIB! Clean pages with light reading wear, pages are very lightly tanned, barely creased spine, mild edgewear, a little cover scuffing. Nice. 216 p. Glued binding. read more
Edition: American ed.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Date Published: 1988
ISBN-13:9780374507480ISBN:0374507481
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Free of marks, names, or creases. Cover Very Good. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 192 p. Audience: General/trade. We ship new orders daily. read more
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Free upgrade to First Class mail. Older book with no marks, names, or creases. Some page tanning due to age. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Cover has some wear; pages are unmarked. SHIPS NEXT DAY. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Bantam Books
Date Published: 1970
ISBN-13:9780553238372ISBN:055323837X
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. SSMALL TEAR ON EDGE OF COVER, OTHERWISE FINE CONDITION. CLEAN AND TIGHT BOOK. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. Audience: General/trade. SMALL TEAR ON EDGE OF COVER, OTHERWISE FINE CONDITION. CLEAN AND TIGHT BOOK. "HERMANN HESSES'S SPIRITUAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY, BENEATH THE WHEEL, IS A TOUCHSTONE IN THE NOBEL PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR'S LIFELONG EXAMINATION OF THE CONFLICT BETWEEN SELF-AFFIRMATION AND SELF-DESTRUCTION". PAPERBACK-HESS, 1970, 4TH PRINTING ... read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Bantam Books
Date Published: 1970
ISBN-13:9780553238372ISBN:055323837X
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Book has some wear and aging, cover lightly tanned, otherwise in good solid shape. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, New York
Date Published: 1968
Description: Fair. No dust jacket as issued. some edge wear, binding flexible, clean pages, Text in English, German. 187 p.; 22 cm. Translation of Unterm Rad. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Noonday Press
Date Published: 1968
Description: Good. ---187 pgs. Interior-Nice overall condition. The soft cover has only light signs of use. -Publish Place: New York-Size: 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Noonday Press
Date Published: 1968
Description: Good. ---187 pgs. Interior-Nice overall condition. The soft cover has light signs of use. -Publish Place: New York-Size: 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Farrar & Rinehart Inc
Date Published: 1969
Description: Good. ---187 pgs. Interior-Nice overall condition. The soft cover has only light signs of aging. -Publish Place: New York-Size: 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Picador
Date Published: 2003-07-01
ISBN-13:9780312422301ISBN:031242230X
Description: Very Good. Book is in excellent clean condition. Cover may have some minor wear. All pages are clean. Your satisfaction is guaranteed! read more
"I'd known this book only by name, but my sister lent me, so I read it. It's a good source to know what a life of a school boy in Germany who went to a seminary. This is a strong protest against cramming system of education especially for school children who need to play."
"This book is Hesse's indictment of educational systems that value memorization and dissection over appreciation of beauty, that convey knowledge without provoking understanding. Students are working, working, working, but never getting anywhere worthwhile. In my favorite passage, student/poet Hermann Heilner articulates the failures of his highly respected and competitive school:
"We're reading Homer...as though the Odyssey were a cookbook. Two verses an hour and then the whole thing is masticated word by word and inspected until you're ready to throw up. But at the end of the hour the professor will say: 'Notice how nicely the poet has turned this phrase! This has afforded you an insight into the secret of poetic creativity!' Just like a little icing around the aorists and particles so you won't choke on them completely."
I had art history professors who taught like that--thirty minutes analyzing a painting's iconography, "isn't it beautiful," next slide.
This novel is spot on, though depressing. I can see Hesse's ideas about duality/moderation developing in this early book."
"The writing is wonderful. The descriptions of a 1900s village, natural environment, and people are outstanding. Hans Giebenrath is a sympathetic protagonist. He is pushed into academia and does not develop emotional ties with people. It is a strange concept that parents, teachers, and clergy all get behind one person and make such demands. It is a bygone culture or asian style. It was a well paced nervous breakdown. The character got in touch with his own needs.
After that he glorifies physical labor. It is a novel of extremes and the resolution is kind of annoying. But these are things the author struggled with as a person."
"An early Hesse text, but very good. HH was very popular in the '60s but I get the impression he has lost much of his following (the library's copies of HH's works are mostly editions from the '60s or early '70s). I'd like to go back to the Magic Theatre myself."
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