The Fairy Tales of Hermann Hesse. New York. 1995. Bantam Books. Translated from the German & With An Introduction by Jack Zipes. 266 pages. Jacket illustration by David Frampton. 0553100238. November 1995.
DESCRIPTION - To read Hermann Hesse’s fairy tales is to enter a fabulous world of dreams and visions, philosophy and passion. This landmark collection contains twenty-two of Hesse’s finest stories in this genre, most translated into English here for the first time. Drawing on both Eastern and Western fairy-tale traditions, Hesse captures the innate power of this ancient form as he spins wondrous stories that both entertain us and penetrate beneath the surface of our conscious mind. Full of visionaries and seekers, princesses and wandering poets, his fairy tales speak to the place in our psyche that inspires us with deep spiritual longing; that compels us to leave home, and inevitably to return; and that harbors the greatest joys and most devastating wounds of our heart. Containing all the themes common to Hesse’s great novels - SIDDHARTHA, STEPPENWOLF and DEMIAN - and mirroring events in his own life, these exquisite short pieces exhibit the same mystical and romantic impulses that contribute to the haunting brilliance of his major works. Several stories, including ‘The Poet,’ ‘The Fairy Tale About the Wicker Chair,’ and ‘The Painter,’ examine the dilemma of the artist, torn between the drive for perfection and the temptations of pleasure and social success. Other tales reflect changes and struggles within society: in ‘Faldum,’ a city is irrevocably transformed when each resident is granted his or her fondest wish; in ‘Strange News from Another Planet,’ ‘If the War Continues,’ and ‘The European,’ nightmarish landscapes convey Hesse’s devastating critiques of nationalism, barbarism, and war. Strikingly original in both substance and style, these richly symbolic works resonate with timeless themes: the fundamental duality of existence, the isolation of the artist, and the decline of Western civilization. Hesse’s lyrical prose is deceptively simple, like a Zen koan, often camouflaging profound enigmas. What is the meaning of the killing of the blind leader in ‘The Forest Dweller’? Why does the guide leap off the mountain in ‘The Difficult Path’? By making us ask these provocative questions, Hesse invites us to undertake a quest for personal and cultural enlightenment that is as relevant today as it was to readers in his own time. Illuminating and inspiring, THE FAIRY TALES OF HERMANN HESSE will challenge and enchant readers of all ages. A distinguished and historic publication, this fine translation by Jack Zipes captures their subtlety and elegance for decades to come.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY - HERMANN HESSE was born at Calw, Germany, July 2, 1877. He started life as a bookseller at Tubingen and Basle, and began to publish poetry at the age of 21. Five years later he had his first great success with his novels on youth and educational problems: first PETER CAMENZIND, then UNTERM RAD (THE PRODIGY), followed by SIDDHARTHA, ROSSHALDE, DEMIAN, and others. All of them sold by the hundred-thousand; and when, as a protest against German militarism in the First World War, he settled permanently in Switzerland, he was established as one of the greatest literary figures of the German-speaking world. His deep humanity, his searching philosophy developed further in such novels as DER STEPPENWOLF and NARZISS UND GOLDMUND (GOLDMUND), while his poems and critical writings won him a leading place among contemporary thinkers. The Nazis abhorred and suppressed his books; the Swiss honoured him by conferring on him the degree of Ph.D.; the world finally, by bestowing upon him in 1946 the Nobel Prize for Literature, an award richly deserved by his great novel MAGISTER LUDI (DAS GLASPERLENSPIEL).
Jack Zipes, a professor of German at the University of Minnesota, is an authority on folklore and fairy tales as well as an acclaimed translator. Active as a storyteller in public schools, he has worked with children’s theaters in France, Germany, Canada, and the United States. His publications include BREAKING THE MAGIC SPELL, FAIRY TALES AND THE ART OF SUBVERSION, THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD, DON’T BET ON THE PRINCE, THE COMPLETE TALES OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM, SPELLS OF ENCHANTMENT, and THE OUTSPOKEN PRINCESS AND THE GENTLE KNIGHT.
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