Contents
Introduction by Theodore Ziolkowski, VII
Berthold (1907-8), 3
Friends (1907-8), 51
The Fourth Life [Glass Bead Game], (1934)
First Version, 125
Second Version, 195
"Despite the rebelliousness that marked his own brief school career, Hesse was fascinated by the institution and the relationships it fosters, and used it as the background for much of his writing. He saw the classroom as an environment that intensifies the natural tensions between discipline and freedom, intellect and sensuality. The stories in this collection - "Friends," "Berthold," and the two versions of "The Fourth Life" - depict German student life in different periods of history (the fin de siècle, the Thirty Years' War, and the early eighteenth century) and, in their treatment of parallel themes and plots, are unmistakably connected to three of Hesse's major novels - Demian, Narcissus and Goldmund, and The Glass Bead Game." (blurb)
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