Narcissus and Goldmund
Also published as Death and the Lover, this new edition features a foreword from the musician and artist Graham Coxon Narcissus is a teacher at Mariabronn, a monastery in medieval Germany, and Goldmund his favorite pupil. While Narcissus remains detached from the world in prayer and meditation, Goldmund runs away from the monastery in pursuit of love. Thereafter he lives a picaresque wanderer’s life, his amatory adventures resulting in pain as well as ecstasy. His eventual reunion with Narcissus brings into focus the diversity between artist and thinker, Dionysian and Apollonian.
Stats for nerds
19recommend
33mentions
27people
2010–2025years
76% recommend21% neutral3% critical
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- I liked this quite a bit the first time I'd read it. A decade later, not as much.
Narcissus and Goldmund is my favorite book by Hesse - it's beautifully crafted.
- I suggest two books by Hesse - Siddhartha / Narcissus and Goldmund.
- The Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse. I enjoyed reading both Steppenwolf and Narcissus and Goldmund for the second time.
- I ought to reread Siddhartha, as it's been a while. Have you read his other works? I can recommend Narcissus and Goldmund - it's absolutely beautiful.
- I guess the subject matter is eastern/Buddhist in nature? Not sure what GP meant.
I liked that book when I was young but a recent reading didn't leave me super impressed.
My absolute favorite book by Hesse is Narcissus and Goldmund, it's beautiful. The Glass Bead game is pretty amazing too.
- Agree, but would also list Narcissus and Goldmund. Am I the only one that found something of value in that book? People never seem to mention it.
