Steppenwolf

It was entertaining reading Herman's critique on 1920s European bourgeois decadence, spiritual atrophy and mechanisation. Its interesting to see reflections of this critique in other writers like Orwell, Chatwin and Lawrence, inviting wonder on the timeless effects of civilisation on humankind. This book gets pretty gnarly towards the end as our protagonist begins to enter into some abstract realms with strange characters. Overall I liked Hesse's self reflection and hypocrisy in Haller, but got a bit bored with the sections of prolonged dialogue and romantic tropes. But maybe I need to give this one another shot, perhaps reading Siddharta will contextualise me with Hesse's interests in spirituality, enriching my re-reading of this book.