"Demian" by Hermann Hesse: Emil Sinclair is a good little kid living an ordinary life until he tells a lie in an attempt to fit in with the other boys. I guess he never saw the episode of "The Brady Bunch" when Bobby said he knew Joe Namath.
In his quest to be one of the guys, Emil says he once stole a sack of apples from a nearby orchard. Franz Kromer, a brutish thug of a lad who Emil was trying to impress most, waits for the others to leave and then turns the tables on poor Emil, threatening to hand him over to the farmer and collect a reward for capturing the apple thief.
Emil doesn't know whether to cry or wind his watch. If he comes clean, he's admitting he lied, and he'd lose all face with his classmates. If he remains silent, he'd get punished for a crime he didn't commit. Even Broadway Joe couldn't get him out of this one. Okay, well, maybe Broadway Joe could, but he can do anything.
Of course, Kromer is lying about the reward, but Emil is too young and naive to suspect such treachery. He begs Kromer not to turn him in, promising to pay the equivalent of the reward. Unfortunately, Emil doesn't have the money, so he's forced into a life of crime, first stealing from his own piggy bank and then perpetrating various other misdeeds at Kromer's behest in an attempt to make up the difference.
Living such a dastardly double life is excruciating to Emil, who's horrified at the prospect of disappointing his mother and father. Yet, at the same time, having a secret existence excites him. He knows what he's doing is wrong, but he can't help but enjoy it, creating a moral crisis within the young man's soul. And he sees no escaping Kromer's clutches.
When all seems lost, salvation arrives in the form of Max Demian, a new boy at school who seems mature beyond his years, possessing an intelligent, enlightened tranquility seldom found in men of any age, with the possible exception of Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks. Demian takes a liking to Emil and quickly discerns the nature of his friend's troubles. The next time Emil encounters his tormentor, Kromer heads for the hills, running away like a frightened school girl.
While Emil is relieved to be free of Kromer, he never fully expresses his gratitude to Demian. In fact, the two boys drift apart. Still, Emil can't help but feel connected to Demian. In their brief time together, Demian completely altered the way Emil saw the world, getting him to question everything he once considered fact.
Demian's teachings began with the Biblical story of Cain and Abel. While everyone is taught Cain was a wild murderer who slew his righteous brother, Demian sees things a bit differently. Demian believes Cain is the noble of the two, and the legends of his madness and evil nature were merely the result of jealousy and fear amongst his less dignified peers. Cain wore a mark on his forehead not because he was evil, but because he was superior. People feared him because he reminded them of everything they were not, of everything they would never be. Once again, not unlike Joe Willy Namath and his AFL upstarts who felled the NFL's mighty Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.
As the years go by, Emil and Demian's lives continue to intertwine, with Emil inexplicably drawn to his mysterious friend. Demian serves as a spiritual guide of sorts, leading Emil towards discovering his true self, forcing him to come to terms with the duality of man, the good and evil that exists in all of us. If Emil is to truly know personal freedom, he must rebel against all he's been told to believe, trusting only his inner voice. A man must destroy a world before he can be born.
Published in 1919, when the author was 42, "Demian" was a major success for Mr. Hesse, but for my money it lacks the overwhelming genius of his later masterpieces, "Siddhartha" (1922) and "Steppenwolf" (1927).
There's still plenty to like here, though. Some of the passages are downright startling for their insight into existence. If you like philosophy and the search for meaning in life, you'll love Hesse. He's the real deal. Yet I'd rank "Demian" below the aforementioned works, and "Knulp" (1915) for that matter, simply because its story lacks the depth to support its ideas.
Emil narrates the tale after the fact, stealing some of its urgency. And it weighs in at only 140 pages, perhaps a bit light for such weighty matters. There are passages of unparalleled brilliance, but there really isn't a worthy structure to hold them. It's almost like a philosophical treatise with a story as an afterthought. The ending comes far too quickly, almost as if there are a few scenes missing, and it lacks a significant emotional payoff.
Don't get me wrong, it's still very good, and it's the kind of work that will inspire thought and personal reflection, but it pales when compared to Hesse's other great works.
RATING: 