Narziß und Goldmund (English title: Narcissus and Goldmund) was Hermann Hesse’s greatest commercial success, following on the heels of Der Steppenwolf, his most misunderstood novel. The novel seems to revisit some of the themes from his earlier novels, particularly Siddhartha, but in a different format and with added dimensions that were lacking in Siddhartha.

The story, which has a fairy tale quality to it at times, follows the friendship of Narziß and Goldmund, two individuals living in the Middle Ages. Narziß is an intellectual, a spiritual person, and a passive nature. He also has an admitted preference for men, though he does not act on it. Goldmund is an active, worldly and spontaneous soul, who has an innate talent for seducing women. The two become unlikely friends at a monastery, and Narziß actually encourages Goldmund to leave the monastery and follow his heart in order to learn who he really is.

The search for self, so prominent in Hesse's books, is the driving force behind Goldmund's wanderings. The image of the mother that he lost, which changes over time in his mind to accommodate his understanding of the world, is the idea that impels him forward. He is a selfish and at many times unsympathetic character, and at one point Hesse writes that he lived his life solely for himself, whereas Narziß lived his life to serve others.

Neither character is meant to be a balanced person, and both title characters are somewhat two dimensional. Hesse was obsessed with the ideas of both Nietzsche and Jung, and so almost all of the people in the story are archetypes rather than believable individuals. To add to my statement that there is a fairy tale quality to the story, there is an element of parable as well.

For all that, it was a hindrance to my enjoyment of the book that the characters were symbolic and exaggerated. They lacked an integrity that makes for truly good fiction. I believe that the character of Goldmund also reminded me a bit too much of Siddhartha, despite the fact that Siddhartha's search had a more spiritual component (which component has been split into a separate character, Narziß, in this novel).

Additionally, at times the story seemed to wander along with Goldmund without any point, which was frustrating. The strongest parts of the book were the portions where Narziß and Goldmund were together. The rest of the book, where Goldmund was traveling on his own, was hit and miss. A few episodes stood out as well-written, such as when the Plague ravished the land, and when Goldmund apprenticed himself to a woodcarver making religious statues.

In short, the book fell a bit flat for me. I think that someone who hasn’t read Hesse recently might have a much more positive appraisal of the book, but for me it was somewhat disappointing.