A review by theuncultured
Demian by Hermann Hesse

3.0

I'm not very fond of coming-to-age stories (an exception would be Salinger), and having just finished Orwell's essay on his days in prep school (which bored the wits out of me), I wasn't excited when I was looking for something to read and the only book I had in my possession was Demian. However, once I read the first 3 pages I was filled to the brim with consciousness, and hated myself a little to have judged the book too soon. I should know by now not to have any doubts about Hesse again. This book is about Emil Sinclair, a boy who finds himself unraveling conventional thought from his head and digging deep into his interior reality for something that is much more natural to him than what he has been taught. The story is dramatically inclined to psychology, extremely philosophical, dreamily poetic, and will completely leave you with a silky feeling in your throat.