Demian - By Hermann Hesse
"Demian" by Hermann Hesse follows the journey of Emil Sinclair, a young boy growing up in Germany during the early 20th century. He struggles with his inner conflicts and the pressures of conformity in society. Through encounters with enigmatic characters like Max Demian, Sinclair embarks on a spiritual and psychological quest for self-discovery and enlightenment.
Basically, it's a coming-of-age book.
I initially picked up this book out of nostalgia. At a second-hand book sale, I stumbled upon the same edition my dad had when I was a kid, the one (among other books) I apparently ended up destroying while playing. Oh well...
Reading a bit on the internet i discovered this book is commonly assigned to high school and college students, given that Emil Sinclair, the protagonist, is around that age throughout most of the story. His internal struggles and his perception of the world resonate with individuals of that demographic. Despite that i can certainly say it resonated with me at some level, because i still have some doubts about my presents that are, in a certain level, present in Emil's own inner struggles.
Emil Sinclair is portrayed as an impressionable teen, riddled with doubts. I could totally relate to his tendency to over-analyze situations and thoughts. However, his inclination to cling to disparate ideas and symbolisms struck me as peculiar, but I suppose it's a part of what being a adolescent is after all...
Without spoiling the plot, the central idea of the book revolves around the concept of embracing both the good and evil within oneself, and accepting the good and "evil" parts of one way of thinking, rather than conforming to societal norms blindly.
The book is chockfull of symbolysms and hidden ideas that are not hard to grasp if you scratch a little and do a bit of your own research. While "Demian" delves sometimes into mysticism, religion, and gnosticism, it serves more as a platform to explore ideas rather than endorse specific beliefs.
It has a lot of flaws and the ending is a bit rushed to my liking but it's still an enjoyable and relatable read.