The Glass Bead Game: (Magister Ludi) A Novel
Dec 2002 · Sold by Holt Paperbacks
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25 reviews
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576
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About this ebook
The final novel of Hermann Hesse, for which he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946, The Glass Bead Game is a fascinating tale of the complexity of modern life as well as a classic of modern literature.
Set in the 23rd century, The Glass Bead Game is the story of Joseph Knecht, who has been raised in Castalia, the remote place his society has provided for the intellectual elite to grow and flourish. Since childhood, Knecht has been consumed with mastering the Glass Bead Game, which requires a synthesis of aesthetics and scientific arts, such as mathematics, music, logic, and philosophy, which he achieves in adulthood, becoming a Magister Ludi (Master of the Game). But can, indeed should, man live isolated from hunger, family, children, women, in a perfect world where passions are tamed by meditation, where academic discipline and order are paramount?
Set in the 23rd century, The Glass Bead Game is the story of Joseph Knecht, who has been raised in Castalia, the remote place his society has provided for the intellectual elite to grow and flourish. Since childhood, Knecht has been consumed with mastering the Glass Bead Game, which requires a synthesis of aesthetics and scientific arts, such as mathematics, music, logic, and philosophy, which he achieves in adulthood, becoming a Magister Ludi (Master of the Game). But can, indeed should, man live isolated from hunger, family, children, women, in a perfect world where passions are tamed by meditation, where academic discipline and order are paramount?
The final novel of Hermann Hesse, for which he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946, The Glass Bead Game is a fascinating tale of the complexity of modern life as well as a classic of modern literature.
Set in the 23rd century, The Glass Bead Game is the story of Joseph Knecht, who has bee...
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Ratings and reviews
25 reviews
Floyd Hampton Livingston
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August 18, 2018
Really? I sat through 600 pages of nothing and then it ends like that?!
NOTHING happens in this book. I understand this book won the Noble Prize
for literature, but damn. I don't even think Hesse even knew what the damn
"GLASS BEAD GAME" was. That ending was a slap in the face. Seems like he
just wanted to end it. The whole time you're like "something is going to
happen." Nope. You rely on the merits of winning a Noble Prize to carry you
through to the end.
2 people found this review helpful
Rita Hazlett
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December 17, 2023
The writing is painfully dull, which may be an issue with the translation. However the translation cannot be blamed for the pretention. The author is enamored with various philosophies like an undergrad reading The Republic for the first time and follows those philosophies to multiple incompatible conclusions.
Luke
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September 4, 2016
Slow in the begining, but ends perfectly I'm not going to spoil it... ...A must read
2 people found this review helpful
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 novels, stories, and essays bearing a vital spiritual force that has captured the imagination and loyalty of many generations of readers. His works include Siddhartha, Steppenwolf, Narcissus and Goldmund, and The Glass Bead Game. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946. Hermann Hesse died in 1962.
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 novels, stories, and essays bearing a vital spiritual force that has captured the imagination and loyalty of many generations of ...
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