I am a huge Fan of Hesse. His writing style is relatable, easy to understand, but still a bit deep. He has a positive outlook on normal daily situations and tends to romanticize them a bit, yet not to kitschy. I am not sure if his vibe transfers the same in other languages and if you may have your own, national writers with a similar style.
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siddharta is relatively well known, I don’t know about his other works personally
I know of him but have not read him nor do I recall many people mentioning or quoting him
I doubt that Hesse is popular in German-speaking areas…
I’ve read Siddhartha in Turkish, it was recommended by a friend and was somewhat known
Ive read Siddartha a couple of times, nothing else though
It was very popular among my friends in Turkey, but I don’t know how representative they are 😅 but the more well-known books such as Siddhartha and Steppenwolf are definitely popular. I am a big fan of him myself.
Siddharta is part of high school curriculum in Croatia, as far as I know
In French speaking Switzerland, his name isn’t really famous, but it’s familiar to literature amateurs. I don’t think his works are very popular but you often find at least a few in bookstores, so it might still sell.
No idea right now, but 40 years ago it was, here. I read Siddharta, Unterm Rad, Der Steppenwolf and Demian, I think. Translated.
I see last Catalan editions are from 15, 20 years ago.
I read extracts in German GCE studies at school. Can’t honestly remember much about it and tbh have never know anyone here read Hesse since.
Yeah he’s pretty well known. Still has that counter-cultural vibe I guess. In high school we used to have gift lottery in class in December, a girl I wasn’t particularly close with got paired with me and gifted me Hesse actually (*Demian*), it was nice and well-chosen. Many years later I wouldn’t really go back to it though: German modernism can be really awesome but Hesse certainly isn’t my favourite.
Narcissus and Goldmund was translated in 1956, The Glass Bead Game in1976, those were the only two translated during Soviet times in Latvia.
He became popular then, and more works have been translated after we regained independence.
There appears to be some reasonable interest in certain circles, as Siddhartha is republished this year, and various other works have been published and republished quite steadily along since 1991
https://kopkatalogs.lv/F/KD8DHB652269EGL571VNMTVJTIDQI39Q6KGTCINAK4G1NAHBE6-01824?func=find-b&request=hese%2C+hermanis&find_code=AUT&adjacent=N&x=49&y=9&filter_code_1=WLN&filter_request_1=LAV&filter_code_2=WYR&filter_request_2=&filter_code_3=WYR&filter_request_3=&filter_code_4=WFM&filter_request_4=
The name sounds vaguely familiar but I would have no idea who the man is if you hadn’t mentioned it. (Swede here).
We had to read Steppenwolf in high school. Other than that, Siddhartha is well-known
Arguably more popular outside of Germany, at least in some countries (and with the exception of around Calw and the Black Forest, sure). Strangely, or perhaps appropriately, he’s especially famous in some of the least individualistic places out there, where everyone is supposed to adapt and conform: Korea, for instance. He strikes a significant chord with young people who might never otherwise be encouraged to treasure having their own thoughts and inner life.
He was extremely popular in the USA and Canada (and maybe in other places) in the 60s, rediscovered by a hippie generation who saw him as some sort of guru – entirely contrary, of course, to his admonitions against following idols.
He’s my favourite author ever, anyway, so pardon my enthusiasm! 😁 I’ve even visited Calw twice, along with Maulbronn, Tübingen… haven’t seen any Hesse sites in Switzerland yet though!
Reasonably well-known. I think there have been some books in the school curriculum or at least additional reading. And I know people who have read most of his books. The Glass Bead Game, Siddhartha and Steppenwolf are the most popular.
Hesse was one on my favorite artist when I was young. However, I’m not from Europe. I’m from Chile.
Some books of Hesse are curricular and one of my favorites was Steppenwolf.
He is maybe not super mainstream among the general public, since his books tend to be quite heavy and philosophical and dealing with difficult themes, and most people in Sweden only read either crime novels or romance novels. But he is certainly a big name in academic, philosophical and literary circles and among many university students.
My favorite novel of his is Narcissus and Goldmund. Perhaps also because I read it for the first time during a two week long hiking and camping trip among the Norwegian mountains. Hesse’s books are great for reading surrounded by the grandness and stillness of nature I feel, to really make you ponder over the big questions of life and human existence.
I’m not sure Hermann Hesse is exactly popular in Denmark, but I’ve been familiar with his work since my time in upper secondary school. For my extended essay in my final year of secondary school, I wrote a comparative analysis of the Danish translation of *Siddhartha* and the original German text.
I’m not sure he’s very well read but certainly not unknown. I read a lot of his stuff 30+ years ago. The Glass Bead Game is still a favourite of mine
He’s known, but I wouldn’t say he’s popular.
As a person who read Der Steppenwolf, I don’t understand the appeal.
Ah yes, Steppenwolf, the only great piece of literature where the main characters are Harry and Hermine.
When I was young, Hesse was popular here in Norway. Remember «Der Steppenwolf» well
I went through a Hermann Hesse phase in my late teens, in my penultimate year at school. It appealed to my teenaged schoolboy angst and romanticism, as well as an interest I had at that time in the 1960s when Hesse was a cult figure (I was born in England’s World Cup year ⚽️ – 1966 – but grew to consciousness in the ‘70s). I found the writing rich and intense, displaying a considerable knowledge of Eastern philosophy, making Hesse a bit like a benign and life-affirming version of Schopenhauer. Being British, I was disappointed by the absence of humour or irony.
Hermann Hesse’s works have been translated into a vast number of languages, with sources citing translations into 60-75 languages, making him one of the most widely read German-language authors globally, with sales exceeding 100 million copies.
Reading Hesse (in English) always gave me profound respect for translators. It just seemed beyond comprehension that the writing could be so beautiful, even in a language other than the one it was originally written in. Definitely a great author!
Not that popular actually in the Netherlands.
In the Dutch education system, we need to read a certain number of books in German. We can pick any books we like, as long as they are on the master literature list that the school compiles (if you want to read something decent that’s not on the list probably you’ll also be able to convince the teacher, it’s just to prevent kids from picking stuff that’s not literature-worthy, whatever that may mean). Kids are tested on the books they read by oral examination.
This website made a compilation of most popular books of the list – it’s pretty accurate in my opinion.
https://www.scholieren.com/literatuurlijst/filters:language/4
The first book by Herman Hesse (Steppenwolf) only appears on page 5.
Of course kids being kids, there ‘s clearly some bias in the popularity list towards shorter books. Perhaps Hesse’s books are too thick?
Steppenwolf, I remember like I read it yesterday. Demian, Narciss und Goldman, I loved those books