Gertrude

People like best what's hard for them to obtain.

If I could take all the stars in this universe and shower it on Hesse's books, it still won't be enough to rate them! This is one of the best love stories I've read read. It's about a man who falls in love with a woman and then introduces her to his best friend, and eventually she ends up falling in love with his best-friend. It's harrowing, dark and yet wonderful. Hesse has beautifully captured the emotions of the protagonist who is madly and passionately in love with Gertrude. The way the characters are developed is just sheer genius. I was totally in love with each one of them. In the end, the books teaches you a lot about friendship and love. It also shows how tragedy and pain always play a vital role in an artist's life. Glad that I read at a point in my life where I was going through similar plight as that of the protagonist of this novel. And this book has acted as my guide to pave my way out of it. A masterpiece of a novel! Must read.