The Journey to the East (Hesse)

Three of my exquisite associates read this obscure little novel recently. One of them described the plot and said the book made her think differently. How can you resist such a recommendation? By working hard, I suppose, but I am lazy so I borrowed the book. Having finished it ten minutes ago, I can say this:

I don't know what happened. I don't know what it all means. There are glimmerings of profound insight all throughout but it sways unsteadily through the fantastic and the metaphorical. In the end I can't say what did and did not happen. I couldn't tell you how it ended. Remember that book, The Giver? He goes blazing down the hill in his silly sled and has that vision of the village? Either he was saved by the most freakish happenstance or he is dead. More probably he is dead. But you can't know for sure because there isn't another chapter to tell you what the cabbage just happened. The book is over and you're going to have to accept the indecorous lack of resolution.

Would I corroborate my friend's recommendation? Absolutely. The solid portion of the book - the text on the pages, the descriptions and declarations - was opaque and muddled. But something fluttered behind the pages like a crimson silk trapped in a milk jug. I couldn't see it, but I knew it was vivid and clear. It insisted on a return to faith, conviction, and courage. It hinted at the richness of an inner life that seeps out of steady intervals of contemplation, prayer, and renewal of purpose. With such advantages, even the most impenetrable narrative merits a look.

A sample:

"Finally, he could no longer hide and contain himself. His suffering became too great, and you know that as soon as suffering becomes acute enough, one goes forward. Brother H. was led to despair in his test, and despair is the result of each earnest attempt to understand and vindicate human life. Despair is the result of each earnest attempt to go through life with virtue, justice and understanding and to fulfill their requirements. Children live on one side of despair, the awakened on the other side."