I've learned since reading Hermann Hesse's short collection of sketches, musings, and poetry that he's a quite well-known figure; he once won the Nobel Prize in Literature (1946). My unfamiliarity with the author was no obstacle to enjoying this work, but perhaps those with a better sense of the writer will find more to love about Wandering. The one piece I reread, "Rainy Weather", is highly recommended, a meditation on clouds, depression, and the cycle of life that is in some ways a microcosm of the entire book.
Wandering by Hermann Hesse (October 2020)
My book notes being far shorter than usual speaks to the length rather than the depth of this work. The main thought I've taken with me from reading is how everything that comes to us in life is paid for - as Hesse notes, drink means hangover, heroism is the other half of terror, and sunlight reveals filth. The full weight of this understanding is what Hesse carries with him throughout these pages, and in some ways it becomes both cause and cure of the anxiety, doubt, and depression that darken his days like a cloud lingering over a gray landscape. The power of Wandering is the way it comes together to remind us that if we can get through the dark moment, there is always another day of wonder and beauty.
TOA Rating: Three Malbecs out of four.
