Peter Camenzind

Rating:
Summary: A novel about youth: idealism and romanticism
Review: Hesse's first book is an enjoyable novel about youth in search of the ideal and touched by the romantic. Written by Hesse in 1904 when he was 26, it is a precursor to his famous works. In Peter Camenzind, Hesse reveals a naivety, innocence and humor that is rarely found in his later writings.

Here is an excerpt that relects the lyrical quality of young Hesse:
"These thoughtless words made me realize that the helpless cripple, beseeching, suffering Boppi, whom we did not love, whom we wanted to get rid of, sat sad and alone, locked in one room....And then I remembered that I had told the neighbors in Assisi about St. Francis and had boasted that he had taught me to love all mankind. Why had I studied the saint's life and learned by heart his hymn to love and tried to retrace his footsteps in the Umbrian hills, when I allowed a poor and helpless creature to lay there suffering though I could help him?
The weight of an invisible, mighty hand fell on my heart, crushing it with shame and hurt, and I began to tremble. I know that God wanted a word with me."

Rating:
Summary: Not Hesse's best
Review: I really enjoy Hermann Hesse's novels. In general they are written in such a way that I feel tranquill and happy by the end. The prose is gorgeous and the stories are broad. However, Peter Camenzind, while a fine first novel, does not have the same impact as a Siddartha, Narcissus and Goldmund, or Demian. At the end I felt disgustingly depressed. Hesse's intent is assumably to attack this sort of feeling in the end, but the character just doesn't convince one that he enjoys life anymore. If you like Hesse a lot, read it. You might take more out of it than I did. Otherwise, this one is better left on the shelf.

Rating:
Summary: A bit windy. Plot, action and dialogue entirely secondary
Review: Initially I was going to give it one or two stars, because it's one of those annoying books that talks about witty dialogue and novel characters without actually containing such dialogue or characterisation. It's a summary, someone looking back over their life, and can get quite windy - despite being relatively short. Plot, action and dialogue are entirely secondary. There may be some insight into certain life stages, but the style doesn't help you to enjoy it.

There's some redemption towards the end, where the character moves from youthful egocentrism and arrogance to a love and appreciation for others he'd normally dismiss (such as a cripple), and a more humble perspective of his importance (i.e. he's no more important than anyone else, and history will adjudge it so).

There's stuff about coming to terms with that without bitterness or cynicism. Interesting that there's no Christian element to this.

Also there is a strong parallel with the journey of Peter Camenzind and that of Siddharta in the novel Hesse released twenty years later. Also reminded me of Plato's Symposium on love, moving from individuals to humanity. After reading Camenzind I'm forced to doubt how far Hesse kept the spirit of the texts on the Buddha when it fits so nicely with his preconceptions. Maybe he'd already got these ideas from Buddhist teachings he'd been exposed to before he wrote Camenzind? Or maybe he's just coincidentally very sympathetic. Or maybe he's projected something inappropriately.