NOVEL REVIEW: Demian By Hermann Hesse

Eiyo Fadneiras,

I'm back! I just finished reading a German classic literature novel titled Demian. The novel was written by Hermann Hesse. So today, I'm going to share with you guys my review of Demian. Now let's begin with the author's bio...

ABOUT HERMANN HESSE

The author of Demian - Hermann Hesse (Image: britannica.com)

Hermann Hesse is a German poet, novelist, and painter. Hesse was born in Germany in 1877. Heese died in Switzerland in the year 1962. Hesse began his career as a fiction writer when he was only 20 years old. Renowned for his insights into human psychology and his advocacy of expansive self-exploration, Hesse remains one of the most frequently translated and most avidly read German writers of the twentieth century. When Hesse was still alive, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946. Hesse's best-known works are Demian, Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, The Glass Bead Game, Beneath The Wheel, Peter Camenzind, Narcissus and Goldmund, Gertrud, and Rosshalde. Most of Hesse's works are about an individual's efforts to break out of the established modes of civilization to find an essential spirit and identity.

ABOUT DEMIAN

The novel Demian was first published in 1919. Emil Sinclair is the main character and narrator of the story. When the novel was first published, most people thought that Demian was an autobiography book, and Emil Sinclair was the author.  But later, Hesse was revealed to be the author of Demian.

Like The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah, Demian is also a novel about self-discovery. It's about a person growing up and entering adulthood. Demian follows a young German boy named Emil Sinclair as he goes through hardships, anxiety, and love on his incredible adventure to adulthood. 

At the beginning of the story, Sinclair was portrayed as a depressed kid. He was bullied by an older boy named Franz Kromer. Later, Sinclair met a charming mysterious boy named Max Demian. Demian helped Sinclair from Kromer. Because of Demian, Kromer stopped bullying Sinclair. Sinclair was happy. He and Demian became best friends. 

As their friendship grows, Demian teaches Sinclair the other way of living that was totally different from the way he was taught in his Catholic home. Demian also lures Sinclair into the dark world with his different perspective on the tale of Cain and Abel.

Years pass by, Sinclair is now a man. But he is still obsessed with Demian and can't seem to forget the mysterious man who has influenced him a lot about life. In this novel, Demian is portrayed as a handsome, charming, suave, mysterious, intelligent, brave, and confident man. Besides his best friend, Sinclair also sees Demian as his role model. Demian is the person Sinclair desires to be like.

Towards the end of the novel, Sinclair and Demian reunite. Sinclair soon falls in love with Demian's mother, Eve. And Demian continues to support Sinclair as the boy walks the last mile into his life as a grown man. And World War I begins...

MY REVIEW OF DEMIAN

I was introduced to the novel Demian early this year. At that time, I was binge-watching The Producers (a 2015 South Korean drama starring Kim Soo Hyun and IU). In the drama, Baek Seung Chan (Kim Soo Hyun) gave Cindy (IU) a novel titled Demian. Cindy became so fascinated with the novel. She can't stop reading the novel till the end. Cindy's fascination with Demian made me interested to read the novel. So I googled Demian and found out that Demian is a famous German literature novel. According to one website I read, most South Koreans are fascinated with Demian including K-pop idols like RM from BTS. Reading what RM said about Demian made me more interested to read the novel. So I requested from my mother to have Demian as this year's birthday present. Syukur Alhamdulillah, my mother agreed to my request. Thank you, Eomoni ^_^

Demian is a very brilliant novel to me. The storyline is dark, mysterious, interesting, and very intriguing. Hesse's writing for this novel really hooks me into reading it. I like the way Hesse uses POV 1 in Demian. It brings me closer to Sinclair. I can feel Sinclair's struggle from reading Demian. 

The plot development in Demian is incredible. Besides the main character, the world in Demian also grows as the plot develops. This shows Hesse’s talent in writing expressionistic literature. The way Hesse describes the world in Demian makes it easy for me to imagine and visualize it. 

I also like that Hesse uses the words - 'two worlds' to describe the world in Demian. In Demian, Sinclair explains to readers that the world we are living in now is consists of two worlds. One is the light world - that is our childhood life. Everything is so lively and pure in the light world, and our parents are our sanctuary. And the other one is the dark world of adulthood, sex, drinking, loneliness, and responsibility. The way Sinclair explains the two worlds also makes the setting of this novel very intriguing and mysterious to me. 

Reading this novel also makes me curious about Max Demian's character. Who is he? What is he? Is he a good or bad guy? Why is Sinclair so obsessed with Demian? In the novel, Demian is portrayed as an extremely handsome and smart man, but his aesthetic also seems to change as Sinclair grows older. So who is this Max Demian anyway? Hmm....well, you will only find out who Max Demian is if you read this novel till the end.

Overall, I'm giving Demian a 10/10. I love this novel a lot. Demian is now one of my all-time favorite reads. Demian is also a novel I plan to reread in the future. Insya'Allah. I also highly recommend all bookworms and literature lovers to read Demian. Demian is a MUST READ novel, guys. So don't miss out.

Ok, so this is my review of Demian. Has anyone read Demian? If yes, what are your opinions of this classic literature? Did you enjoy reading it?

Ok, that's all for now. Thank you for reading my review. See you again soon ^_^

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XoXo,

Fadima Mooneira ^_^

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