318. Steppenwolf

Steppenwolf
Herman Hesse
Around 250 pages
1927

Of course Herman has to Hesse up my one chance to have a werewolf novel on this List. What should be a simple story involving a full moon and sexy growling instead revolves around some profound spiritual crisis. I guess I shouldn't expect the man who brought us Rosshalde to be very fun.

Our aimless hero Harry is ill at ease in bourgeois society. He wanders around the city until a stranger hands him an advertisement for a magic theatre and a book about a man with two souls (one man/one wolf). The advertisement is hella specific, referencing Harry by name, even claiming Harry is a name for a baby. Hey, nobody insults Harry Potter in front of me. Anyway, things only get weirder from there.

I am not a particularly spiritual person, so some of Hesse falls flat for me. I often feel like I lose the thread of the story. I'm just not very interested in the themes he explores, and his characters are too surreal to feel real to me. Just not my style.

Of course, he is a very skillful writer, just not my cup of tea.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Hesse has claimed this novel was violently misunderstood by readers. In other words if you don't like it, you don't get. 

UP NEXT: Nadja by Andre Breton.