Der Steppenwolf

For madmen only. Harry Haller believes himself to be a man of two natures, forever discontent and destined for suicide. At once spiritual and high, simultaneously, animalistic and low, he feels he has no place in the clean bourgeois society of the day, and is nothing more than a "wolf of the steppes." But then, a locked door to a magic theater, a treatise from a stranger on his very nature, and a vibrant woman with little patience for his self-pity draw him into a series of experiences that will change him forever. (There is also a sport toward the end which can only be described as "Murder Car").

Aside from our doubt that many of our listeners had ever read and Hesse beyond Siddhartha, it seemed a short and poignant work ripe for a candid literary analysis (as neither Scott nor myself had read it). We also wanted a stark departure from the fantasy and science fiction that has so far constituted the majority of our selections.

Hesse was a brilliant author, and this is a fantastic work. I shan't reproduce our somewhat extensive thoughts here, as you can listen to the show for that, but suffice it to say Steppenwolf is well worth reading.

• Purchase "Der Steppenwolf"