Synopses & Reviews
Peter Camenzind, a young man from a Swiss mountain village, leaves his home and eagerly takes to the road in search of new experience. Traveling through Italy and France, Camenzind is increasingly disillusioned by the suffering he finds around him; after failed romances and a tragic friendship, his idealism fades into crushing hopelessness. He finds peace again only when he cares for Boppi, an invalid who renews Camenzinds love for humanity and inspires him once again to find joy in the smallest details of everyday life.
Review
“Moving and profound. Hesse is a writer of suggestion, of nuance, of spiritual intimation.”—
The Christian Science Monitor
Synopsis
In his first novel, Hesse began what would become the project of a lifetime -- writing what he called "biographies of the soul". In these, he portrayed the fundamental journey he saw as necessary for man to resolve his inherent struggle both with himself and with the world around him. For the dissatisfied and unruly Peter Camenzind, his journey serves only to wither his faith in humanity as his travels reveal a world rife with suffering. But it is his internal journey, sparked by caring for a helpless cripple, that enables him to calm his restlessness and recover his love of man.
About the Author
Hermann Hesse was born in Germany in 1877 and later became a citizen of Switzerland. As a Western man profoundly affected by the mysticism of Eastern thought, he wrote many novels, stories, and essays that bear a vital spiritual force that has captured the imagination and loyalty of many generations of readers. His works include
Steppenwolf,
Narcissus and Goldmund, and T
he Glass Bead Game. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946. Hermann Hesse died in 1962.