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The Glass Bead Game (1943)

by Hermann Hesse

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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6,828981,350 (4.11)234
Set in the 23rd century, "The glass bead game" is the story of Joseph Knecht, who has been raised in Castalia, the remote place his society has provided for the intellectual elite to grow and flourish. Since childhood, Knecht has been consumed with mastering the Glass Bead Game, which requires a synthesis of aesthetics and scientific arts, such as mathematics, music, logic, and philosophy, which he achieves in adulthood, becoming a Magister Ludi (Master of the Game).… (more)
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English (87)  French (3)  German (1)  Hungarian (1)  Finnish (1)  Danish (1)  Portuguese (1)  Italian (1)  Dutch (1)  Spanish (1)  All languages (98)
Showing 1-5 of 87 (next | show all)
Previous to "The Glass Bead Game" -- I had only read "Siddhartha" by Hesse. Having enjoyed that book -- When a friend suggested GBG -- I didn't hesitate to start it. The principal protagonist, Joseph Knecht (German for "servant"), in attaining the position of "Magister Ludi", becomes successful with minimal effort on his part in his life in Castalia, the province of the intellectual elite in GBG. Although this novel is set in the 23rd century, there are no obvious clues in the text that render the environment of the book to be futuristic. Thus one can read this work as if it had been set in the present day. A complementary world of organized religion exists along with Castalia -- In that world, Knecht comes into contact Father Jacobus and expands his knowledge of history. Both societies appear to be monastic -- And both view one another with suspicion. The only female character I can recall is the wife of Knecht's classmate from his youth (Plinio Designori) -- She is described as being cold and lacking in compassion [Knecht has 3 major friendships in this work -- All of which are meaningful and important at various points in the novel - Though they suffer due to Knecht's inaccessibility in his role as Magister Ludi]. At one point early on in the book -- Castalia is described as being a place where women are available to young men. But this element of Castalian society is never spelled out in detail. And so the Castalians seem to live as monks. Which comes as no surprise given that the "Glass Bead Game" is an ultimate synthesis of the philosophical, the intellectual, the artistic and the spiritual -- As opposed to the physical, the carnal and anything that could qualify as a baser element of human expression. The entire concept of The Glass Bead Game is veiled in mystery -- Which makes it all the more intriguing -- As the reader can only imagine how this game ultimately manifests, in the context of a technology existing 200 or more years from the present day.

Knecht is blessed with an easy-going, pragmatic personality and is perhaps naive in his reactions to how his success has been thrust upon him. He is a "servant" who follows the path that has been presented to him. He does not stray or rebel, he takes advantage of every opportunity along the way, he masters whatever task is presented to him that will be necessary for him to move forward to the next level. At the same time Knecht appears to be genuinely creative and enough of a people person so that he can sublimate his energies into the social realm -- Thus minimizing any major professional conflicts. He is all business, he avoids and / or manipulates those who could be a threat to his career -- While simultaneously exhibiting compassion for his fellows. Knecht seems to be the envy of his subordinates and yet all is not well within his inner paradise, where his doubts and misgivings about Castalian society continue to multiply -- Via an expansion of knowledge gained through experience. He ultimately realizes that in the philosophical-intellectual-artistic-spiritual confluence that defines life in Castalia -- Its inhabitants live an over-protected, privileged world where they will never rub up against the shoulders of the common man living "outside Castalia". Most Castalians (with the exception of Knecht, who at one point is utilized by the Castalian hierarchy as a kind of ambassador-envoy) are unlikely to visit the world beyond their borders and to know the particular suffering of the "Outsider". If the reader were to see the world of GBG in a futuristic context, it could be viewed as a kind of "Star Trek" where the Castalians, in the manner of the Vulcans, have mastered baser human emotions via "meditation" (which could also be interpreted as "mind control"). The Castalian practice of meditation has taken the place of organized religion and their society is therefore technically godless.

That being said -- Knecht is a spiritual man -- As well as one who wears masks for the sake of his career. As humble as he seems to have been portrayed in GBG -- Perhaps Knecht overreaches his grasp and ultimately tries too hard to be good. Thereby he attempts to share his goodness in situations where it is not called for or even desired. He may even be suicidal and unaware of it. He is after all a man blessed with so much good fortune that it would be easy for him to delude himself into thinking that no achievement exists that is beyond his grasp. Thus the end of the book is devastating: Although a tragedy is alluded to by the narrator, I had no idea what form it would eventually take. There are layered / multiple meanings inherent in the ending that I pondered over for days after finishing this novel -- There are so many ways that its conclusion can be interpreted. Fortunately the 3 chapters that ended the book (following a short addendum of Knecht's poetry), entitled "The Three Lives", helped me to recover from the unfortunate yet realistic conclusion of "Magister Ludi" Joseph Knecht's biography -- As well as to gain an understanding of the work in its entirety. Knecht has a lifetime of good luck behind him when he finally "disappears". Why this happens is as much of a mystery as the mystery of life and death itself. In the end the message that this book relayed to me is as follows: Even if one has everything planned out perfectly in one's life, and even if one successfully executes everything that one has planned -- All of that can be lost via the misfortune of one random event, through a thrust of fate, or by means of a miscalculation based on human error.

In closing: The character who best represents the attribute of "goodness" in this novel is actually the Music Master -- Who guides Knecht forward in life -- Beginning in Knecht's childhood and onwards to his success in Castalia. In one haunting section of the book -- The Music Master is dying and essentially transforms into a blazing sunset of serenity. In this moment -- One can see the arc of a truly fulfilled life and the effect is almost chilling. The Music Master enters into a Nirvana-like state during his last days on the planet and Knecht is a witness to this metamorphosis. It is probably in this moment that Knecht realizes that this is how he would have wanted to be himself. But at this point it is too late -- Knecht has virtually been locked into his position as Magister Ludi -- A position he will be expected by the Castalian hierarchy to retain and maintain until the end of his days. Knecht, whether inadvertently or not, has chased power and fame, has been granted the gifts of its privileges, and will ultimately pay a price for having made that decision. His life becomes both a blessing and a curse. Though he becomes a master of "The Glass Bead Game" -- The game that he does not master, and that no man can master, is "The Game of Life".
( )
1 vote stephencbird | Sep 19, 2023 |
After getting through the first couple of chapters (introduction, and Chapter One), I got along OK.
A slow starter, in other words.
An interesting, futurist novel, with fascinatingly deep descriptive language. It always felt long to me, but the descriptions Hesse gave were always helpful, i.e. not redundant or irrelevant.

I didn't read every chapter. But I'm still giving myself credit for the read.
( )
  jjbinkc | Aug 27, 2023 |
highbrow young adult literature for boys

Clever construction in deferring the constitutive description of the game indefinitely (keep that child reading)

We are practicing a rudimentary kind of dialectics, for the most part consisting of the belabored construction of a circumscribed, yet noble juridical-hierarchical system. [Undergraduate reference to Foucault here.] A denouement repudiating the most obvious shortcomings thereof creates the impression of a dialectical totality/synthesis. Meanwhile, the Hesse-ian novel-machine extracts every morsel of surplus [moral] value from our Joseph's life, even his corpse is thrown onto the compost heap. A novel which would have thoroughly impressed me at the age of 10-14.

four glimpses of women
1) peasant wife glimpsed in a window (unremarked, though remarkable scene description)
2) "intelligent" hysterical/oppositional wife of a worldly friend
3) circumscribed girl-child in a so-called "female-led society" of the first short story, who obligingly exits narrative once the men are introduced - later to re-appear as the hysterical/corrupt village usurper
4) hysterical/violent/licentious wife as a dream of the so-called stream-enterer in our last story.

Mentorship of "ever younger" boys as a kind of prurience in Hesse/Mann
"The boy filled with the solemn beauty of the moment and the glorious sensation of his youth and strength, stretched his limbs with rhythmic arm movements, which his whole body soon took up, celebrating the break of day in an enthusiastic dance and expressing his deep oneness with the surging, radiant elements. His steps flew in joyous homage toward the victorious sun and reverently retreated from it; his outspread arms embraced the mountain, lake, and sky; kneeling, he seemed to pay tribute to the earth mother , and extending his hand, to the waters of the lake; he offered himself, his youth, his freedom, his burning sense of his own life, like a festive sacrifice to the powers. The sunlight gleamed on his tanned shoulders; his eyes were half-closed"
( )
  Joe.Olipo | Jun 4, 2023 |
A wonderful device of an attempted biography and an ethereal tale. ( )
  brakketh | May 18, 2023 |
A long rambling story devoid of interesting characters, novel ideas, or gripping conflict. The title refers to a game built upon a system for describing all human potential by a future society of monk-like intellectuals (Costalians). Hesse provides elaborate details of the most mundane aspects of everyday life of the Costalians and of the curation of the game without ever introducing any struggle for why any of it matters.

Instead the book is about finding meaning and purpose in life, but in this he also fails. The supposedly uplifting argument he gives falls flat and leaves one hollow. I felt similarly after reading Camus' The Stranger, but at least Camus seems to have intended a hollow feeling. This book was a great disappointment because of the intriguing idea of the game and because I so thoroughly enjoyed Hesse's surreal Steppenwolf and was hoping for something similar. It did not deliver, and I don't think it should have been nominated for a retro Hugo award. The science aspect of the game or the Costalians is used only to whet the reader's curiosity at the beginning and is never developed. ( )
  MartyBrandon | Mar 19, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 87 (next | show all)
> LE JEU DES PERLES DE VERRE, de Hermann Hesse (Calmann-Lévy), n'est pas un roman d'anticipation, mais une exploration de la vie intérieure. Il n'est pas question de savoir si la possibilité, dans un avenir proche ou lointain, de l'établissement d'une province où tous les raffinements de la culture se seraient réfugiés en une sorte de monachisme laïc est purement utopique et si, en réaction contre l'effusion de bestialité et de sottise, le jeu sublime des "perles de verre" peut devenir le symbole du salut de l'esprit humain.
Une utopie contient toujours, même sur un fond de désenchantement, une bonne part d'optimisme ; il n'y en a aucun dans le roman de Hermann Hesse, et la tragédie de son héros, Joseph Valet (ce qui est la traduction du nom allemand du personnage : Knecht), ne nous laisse plus qu'un seul espoir : que toute chose soit illusion, maya, comme disent les hindous, et que l'action ait aussi peu d'importance que la non-action.
Il a paru durant les dix dernières années peu de livres aussi importants que celui-ci ; peu de livres capables de remuer aussi profondément l'inquiétude de tout homme d'aujourd'hui partagé entre la tentation de la sécurité intellectuelle, de la paix spirituelle qu'offre la province idéale de Castalie, à l'écart de tous les orages de la conscience et de la société, et la tentation de participer à la vie émouvante, impure, dangereuse, d'un monde où l'action n'est pas la soeur du rêve.
 

» Add other authors (41 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Hesse, Hermannprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Ausma, TineTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bļodnieks, ĢirtsTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gregori, ArístidesTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Houwink ten Cate, AnnemarieTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kaila, KaiTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sinervo, ElviTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Winston, ClaraTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Winston, RichardTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ziolkowski, TheodoreForewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Апт, Соломон Константин…Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
. . . For although in a certain sense and for light- minded persons non-existent things can be more easily and irresponsibly represented in words than existing things, for the serious and conscientious historian it is just the reverse. Nothing is harder, yet nothing is more necessary, than to speak of certain things whose existence is neither demonstrable nor probable. The very fact that serious and conscientious men treat them as existing things brings them a step closer to existence and to the possibility of being born. (From Joseph Knecht's holograph translation of Albertus Secundus tract. de cristall. spirit. ed. Clangor et Collof. lib. I, cap. 28).
Dedication
dedicated to the Journeyers to the East
First words
It is our intention to preserve in these pages what scant biographical material we have been able to collect concerning Joseph Knecht, or Ludi Magister Josephus III, as he is called in the Archives of the Glass Bead Game.
Quotations
But now for the first time I had heard the inner voice of the Game itself, its meaning. It had reached me and since that moment I have believed that our royal game is truly a lingua sacra, a sacred and divine language.
One who had experienced the ultimate meaning of the Game within himself would by that fact no longer be a player; he would no longer dwell in the delight in invention, construction and combination, since he would know altogether different joys and raptures. Because I think I have come close to the meaning of the Glass Bead Game, it will be better for me and for others if I do not make the Game my profession, but instead shift to music.
God sends us despair not to kill us; He sends it to us to awaken new life in us.
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Wikipedia in English (1)

Set in the 23rd century, "The glass bead game" is the story of Joseph Knecht, who has been raised in Castalia, the remote place his society has provided for the intellectual elite to grow and flourish. Since childhood, Knecht has been consumed with mastering the Glass Bead Game, which requires a synthesis of aesthetics and scientific arts, such as mathematics, music, logic, and philosophy, which he achieves in adulthood, becoming a Magister Ludi (Master of the Game).

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Book description
Haiku summary
First he learns the rules
Master gamester finds meaning
While losing marbles
(pickupsticks)

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