The Journey to the East

There seem to be as many interpretations of this odd little book as there are readers of it. In it I saw a reflection of my own ongoing journey through the world of literature, history, philosophy and science, guided and accompanied by great characters both created and real; perhaps without the loss of faith and consequent distress experienced by the protagonist/narrator.

In my opinion this particular edition is overburdened by its lengthy, turgid introduction by Timothy Leary, although there are one or two nuggets of interest to be panned from it.

I'm planning to re-read all of Hesse over the next couple of years. I hadn't read this one since college, so I didn't remember much, but it holds even more meaning for me now than it did then and I think it will stay with me. The title in German is Die Morgenlandfahrt. Morgenland is “east” in a metaphorical way–the land of morning–whereas the literal east is Osten. So we can assume, as many of said, that the Journey is not literally to the East or the Orient–although Hesse was fascinated by Asia and Asian religions–but is instead more of a journey toward our origins, the source of light and life. In searching for this origin, what do we remember, what do we lose, whom do we transgress against?

I didn't get it