The Glass Bead Game (Paperback)

Hermann Hesse

ISBN 10: 009928362X / ISBN 13: 9780099283621

Published by Vintage Publishing, London, 2000

About this Item

Paperback. Hermann Hesse's magnum opus and a twentieth-century classicIn the remote Kingdom of Castalia, the scholars of the Twenty Third century play the Glass Bead Game. The elaborately coded game is a fusion of all human knowledge - of maths, music, philosophy, science, and art. Intrigued as a school boy, Joseph Knecht becomes consumed with mastering the game as an adult. As Knecht fulfils his life-long quest he must contend with unexpected dilemmas and the longing for a life beyond the ivory tower. In the remote Kingdom of Castalia, the scholars of the Twenty Third century play the Glass Bead Game. The elaborately coded game is a fusion of all human knowledge - of maths, music, philosophy, science, and art. Intrigued as a school boy, Joseph Knecht becomes consumed with mastering the game as an adult. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780099283621

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Glass Bead Game (Paperback)
• Publisher: Vintage Publishing, London
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 009928362X
• ISBN 13: 9780099283621
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

The Glass Bead Game is an ultra-aesthetic game which is played by the scholars, creamed off in childhood and nurtured in elite schools, in the province of Castalia. The Master of the Glass Bead Game, Joseph Knecht, holds the most exalted office in Castalia. He personifies the detachment, serenity and aesthetic vision which reward a life dedicated to perfection of the intellect. But can, indeed should, man live isolated from hunger, family, children, women, in a perfect world where passions are tamed by meditation, where academic discipline and order are paramount? This is Herman Hesse’s great novel. It is a major contribution to contemporary philosophic literature and has a powerful vision of universality, the inner unity of man’s cultural ideals and his search for personal perfection and social responsibility.

About the Author

Hermann Hesse was born in Calw, Wurttemburg in 1877. In 1919, as a protest against German militarism in the First World War, Hesse moved to Switzerland where he lived in self-imposed exile until his death at the age of eighty-five in 1962. His major works include Steppenwolf, Siddharta and Narcissus and Goldmund. Hesse worked on his magnum opus, The Glass Bead Game, for twelve years. This novel was specifically cited when he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946. Hesse died in 1962.