Reviews

The Story of Emil Sinclair's Youth by Hermann Hesse

shtem08's review against another edition

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5.0

A wonderful book that I read too fast! I've never read a novel quite like this. The relationship with Sinclair and Demian was strange but intriguing, but watching Sinclair slowly discover and understand himself with the help of his companion was quite inspiring. It made me realize that there's so many things I don't know about myself. That I still need to embark on that journey to find my true and authentic self. Amazing

4.8/5

mr_begeer's review against another edition

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4.0

My first full book read in German! A little over the top, but an interesting, philosophical read in general.

suraa0's review against another edition

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5.0

"ربما احتجت إلي ذات يوم مرة أخرى، ضد كرومر أو أي شيء آخر . فإذا ناديتني لن آتي بشكل ملموس، على ظهر جواد أو في قطار. سيكون عليك أن تنصت إلى أعماقك وعندها ستكتشف أنني في داخلك"

Did not think it’d affect me as much as it did. Absolutely BEAUTIFUL

nelliidan's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

luiseee_bln's review against another edition

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inspiring lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

bundestag's review against another edition

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3.0

well written but ultimately uninteresting 3/5

ashley_x's review against another edition

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4.0

My inspiration for reading Demian by Hermann Hesse was BTS. I had discovered Demian had been an inspiration for their WINGS album. So, naturally, I had to read the book myself and see if I could find any parallels between the book and BTS's songs.

I think that BTS definitely drew inspiration from Demian. But I'm not sure if you could say they drew inspiration from the entire thing? For the first half, I could definitely see some similarities or direct lines connecting the book and WINGS. But for the second half of the book, it was less clear to me.

While reading the book, the word ambiguous kept coming to mind. Demian is a wide and strange book. I could grasp what the author/characters were trying to convey but at some points, it all went over my head. But still, at other points, things would make complete sense to me because I had had some of the same thoughts before. It was peculiar. To quote one of the reviews on the back of the book by the New York Review of Books; "rich and strange".

hazelrin's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

_sarahbilal_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

3.0

mistigris's review against another edition

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5.0

A story recounting the misery that is the end of childhood and the struggle that follows to accept a world that is not perfect but beautiful nonetheless.

"I had forgotten that the world could still be so lovely. I had grown accustomed to living within myself. I was resigned to the knowledge that I had lost all appreciation of the outside world, that the loss of my childhood, and that, in a certain sense, one had to pay for freedom and maturity of the soul with the renunciation of this cherished aura"