Particularize Books Concering Beneath the Wheel
| Original Title: | Unterm Rad |
| ISBN: | 031242230X (ISBN13: 9780312422301) |
| Edition Language: | English URL http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1946/hesse-bibl.html |
| Characters: | Hans Giebernath |
| Setting: | Germany |
Hermann Hesse
Paperback | Pages: 192 pages Rating: 3.85 | 12618 Users | 579 Reviews
List Regarding Books Beneath the Wheel
| Title | : | Beneath the Wheel |
| Author | : | Hermann Hesse |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 192 pages |
| Published | : | July 1st 2003 by Picador (first published 1906) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Classics. European Literature. German Literature. Literature. Novels |
Description During Books Beneath the Wheel
In Hermann Hesse's Beneath the Wheel or The Prodigy, Hans Giebenrath lives among the dull and respectable townsfolk of a sleepy Black Forest village. When he is discovered to be an exceptionally gifted student, the entire community presses him onto a path of serious scholarship. Hans dutifully follows the regimen of tireless study and endless examinations, his success rewarded only with more crushing assignments. When Hans befriends a rebellious young poet, he begins to imagine other possibilities outside the narrowly circumscribed world of the academy. Finally sent home after a nervous breakdown, Hans is revived by nature and romance, and vows never to return to the gray conformity of the academic system.Rating Regarding Books Beneath the Wheel
Ratings: 3.85 From 12618 Users | 579 ReviewsAppraise Regarding Books Beneath the Wheel
It is not so much that it was a bad book, but it made me want to kill myself.This was the first book peeking out of the secondhand cart of the Strand bookstore, and I thought what a coincidence since my bf and I have been talking about Hesse recently.I attribute not being impressed by this book as I was by Narcissus and Goldmund to two reasons: (A) I was reading this at the wrong time in my life; (B) I had recently read too many coming of age novels of boyhood and intellectual growth in college (E M Forsters Maurice, Somerset Maughams Of Human Bondage) for this plot
For a while, I thought this book would be one of my favorites of the year. Hesse describing the experiences of Hans at school are truly great and cause one to question the educational approaches of some schools. However, the final 1/3 of the book that follows Hans post-school adventures drags. Perhaps Hesse was going for a deeper meaning with his death by drowning, but given that it happens in the final pages long after he has left school, it feels jarring and out of place more than had he taken
This book is Hesse's indictment of educational systems that value memorization and dissection over appreciation of beauty, that convey knowledge without provoking understanding. Students are working, working, working, but never getting anywhere worthwhile. In my favorite passage, student/poet Hermann Heilner articulates the failures of his highly respected and competitive school:"We're reading Homer...as though the Odyssey were a cookbook. Two verses an hour and then the whole thing is
This is only Hesse's second novel and not his best. It is somewhat autobiographical and, like many of the author's novels, is a tale of a young man's disillusionment, rebellion and self-discovery. My notes on the book from the time of reading summarize it as follows: "Raised without a mother and crushed by the ordered, competitive, masculine world's expectations. The destruction of a young spirit."
Vintage Hesse!Sad story about an ambitious boy who slowly breaks down when facing the pressure of the adult world. While showing the catastrophic effects of a rigid educational system and of excessive parental expectations, it also hints at the responsibility of the young to get to grips with life and not just give up and drift along.As important and relevant now as when it was written!
0 Comments