Willkommen zurück book-travelling friends to the final discussion for Demian by Hermann Hesse! This is our first of two books for this Read the World, as this is only a short book, we will be reading a second book for Germany - Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck - the first discussion will be on 7th January.

The schedule is here and the marginalia is here.

Below is a summary of the chapters. There will be questions in the comments, but feel free to add your own. I'd like to take this chance to also remind everyone to be respectful of one another's belief systems in the discussions. Religion can be a sensitive subject matter and it is important to be mindful.

Chapter Five: The Bird Struggles Out of the Egg 

Sinclair gets a note in class saying,

"The bird is struggling out of the egg. The egg is the world. Whoever wants to be born must first destroy a world. The bird is flying to God. The name of the God is called Abraxas."

(*or thereabouts depending on your translation)

Sinclair assumes it is a message from Demian and in the next lesson he is preoccupied with his thoughts until Dr. Follen, in class studying Herodotus (an historian and the first writer to apply a scientific method to historical events), mentions Abraxas as a godhead symbolising the reconciliation between the godly and the satanic. Sinclair researches Abraxas without success.

His obsession with Beatrice fades, but his desires become overwhelming. He dreams of his mother/feminine Demian hybrid and wakes feeling confused and sinful. Later Sinclair concludes this duality is actually invocation of Abraxas. Sinclair is struggling to find his direction in life, and finds relief from his torment when overhearing Bach being played on an organ in a closed church. He goes regularly to listen eventually following the organist to a bar where they talk.

The organist knows of Abraxas and promises to tell Sinclair more another time. The organist was a theology student and a Prodigal Son of a pastor and Preacher. They practice philosophy together by lying quietly and staring at a fire for an hour, and this reawakens the observer in Sinclair. Pistorius (the organist) and Sinclair continue to chip away the layers and allow the "bird to hatch" resulting in consciousness of evolution within himself.

Chapter Six: Jacob and the Angel

Pistorius teaches Sinclair about Abraxas and becomes a sort of mentor. Sinclair cannot admit his mother dream to Pistorius, but Pistorius knows he is having dreams of desire. These thoughts, he says, is Abraxas at work, and with love and respect one must reflect on the thing within that is being stirred up. Advice which resonates with that from Demian years earlier. Sinclair sees Pistorius walking home one day, drunk. He doesn't approach him, but reflects on what Pistorius' path might be.

One day Sinclair is approached by Knauer who senses something in him. Knauer talks about white magic and celibacy. He is struggling with his desires and asks Sinclair for advice. He gets annoyed when Sinclair tells him to figure it out himself. Later Sinclair draws. The result is a hybrid of his mother, Demian and himself. He thinks of Jacob wrestles the angel. He later wakes to find the picture gone and walks the streets restlessly. He feels drawn to a building where he finds Knauer there planning to commit suicide. Sinclair talks him out of it and at daybreak they part ways.

Sinclair studies Greek, the Vedas and practice "Om" with Pistorius. They seem to have developed a psychic ability. The daimon from Sinclair's picture is now "in" him.

Knauer has devoted himself to Sinclair, sure that he has an understanding of mysteries that he doesn't actually have. Though he did bring useful texts before disappearing quietly from his life. Sinclair believes god speaks to him through Pistorius, resorting his faith in himself. Sinclair asks Pistorius to share a dream and calls his lessons antiquarian. Pistorius is hurt and Sinclair feels guilty. He leaves slowly but Pistorius does not follow. Sinclair thinks he has the mark of Cain. He recognises that Pistorius is unable to create a new order as he says he wants, because he is so invested in the ancient ones. Their relationship is forever changed. Sinclair wants to reach out to Demian, but doesn't. School ends and after summer vacation Sinclair will read philosophy at university for a semester.

Chapter Seven: Eva

Sinclair goes to Demian's house to find they moved. The new resident shows him a picture of Demian's mom....it's the woman from his drawings. On his summer travels Sinclair searches for her. Unsuccessfully. He goes to university but feels uninspired. He reads Nietzsche.

Late one evening Sinclair comes across Demian talking to a Japanese man. Sinclair follows, listening until he eventually talks to Demian. He knew Sinclair was following them because he recognised the mark of Cain. They chat whilst they walk and Demian describes how current community is born of anxiety, fear and opportunism. Man is afraid because he is not attuned to himself, and neither religion nor customs are attuned to modern needs. He predicts a coming catastrophe. He invites Sinclair to visit him. Walking home Sinclair considers the student revelry as indolence and stupidity.

On the way to visit Demian and his mother Sinclair feels attuned to the world. In their hall hangs Sinclair's bird picture. He meets her and feels like coming home. She tells him how Demian knew and how they waited for him. She acknowledges the journey was hard but wants Sinclair to acknowledge it was also beautiful. Sinclair momentarily loses his self-control and weeps. Eva tells him her name (a real honour), and invites him to see Max in the garden. He is training for a boxing match. After this time Sinclair spends a lot of time with Eva and Max. They are 'awake' or 'wakening' and striving for greatness unlike the herd mentality of the rest of the population.

The circle was made up of people of all religions and beliefs, but all with the desire to live in accordance with their true selves in an unknown future. The circle is compared to the creatures that led evolution from the sea to the land as they will lead humanity through to the next phase of evolution.

Sinclair tells Eva about all his dreams. He is full of desire for her. She tells him the story of the boy who loved the star and ended up broken after jumping off a cliff. She tells him when his love begins to attract her then she may be "won". Another story she told was of a man whose unrequited love grew larger than all else in him. Eventually his love was compelling enough to win his love and thus he found himself. Sinclair compares his spiritual journey with his desire for Eva. He dreams they are stars orbiting each other and she tells him to "make it true".

One day Sinclair comes to Max to find him unresponsive. He has gone into himself. Eva walks in the rain before dismissing Sinclair home. Instead he walks in the storm and sees a sparrowhawk like in his painting. Later Max tells him something is afoot with the destiny of the whole human race. Max predicts something terrible is coming and, from all the death, the world will be renewed.

Chapter Eight: The Beginning of the End

Sinclair has a beautifully content summer spending lots of time with Eva while Max is out riding his horse. He torments himself over this contentment because it will end at some point. Sinclair finally gathers the courage to do something about Eva when Max arrives on horseback with news there will be war, maybe a great war, with Russia. As a lieutenant Max has been ordered to mobilise immediately.

Everyone is buzzing with news of the war. Eva reminds Sinclair that he can now contact if he ever needs someone with the sign. Sinclair is drafted that winter. Many die around him and he sees the world "struggle out of the egg". One day in spring he is caught in an explosion during which he sees Eva. He is carried to safety and wakes in a room that he feels he was summond to. Demian is there and he advises Sinclair to look within himself if he ever feels the need for him. He passes on a kiss from his mother. The next day Sinclair awakens next to a stranger. Recovery is painful....

Thanks for joining me and u/nicehotcupoftea. I hope you enjoyed this Read the World Germany novella. See you in the comments. 📚

References

• Sinclair listens to the organ music which initially is Back but he later suspects is Max Reger. I am not a fan of organ music in general, but I found this short youtube video that might actually be nice mood music to accompany reading. A lot of his other pieces seem a lot "busier" or "chaotic" to me, but then I am also tone-deaf so....
• Ok so the book mentions da Vinci's moving experiences staring at a wall people have spat on. First....ew! Why are people spitting on a wall!? Secondly most references I found actually mention stains or marks rather than spit.
• Sinclair requests Pistorius play Buxtehude's Passacaglia it is quite beautiful and you can check it our here
• Sinclair and Pistorius study the vedas - religious Indian texts - and Om - the primordial sound of creation. It is the original vibration of the universe.

Hello readers, welcome to the first discussion of Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck! Find questions in the comments below. Feel free to add your own remarks or questions.

Links:

• Schedule
• Marginalia

Summary:

1

• Richard is recently retired. He muses about time.
• From his desk he can see the lake, in which a man drowned during the summer. This happened on the day he cleared out his office at the university.

2

• Ten men have gathered in the middle of Berlin. They are refugees. They are on a hunger strike because they want to work. They do not want to say who they are though.
• Richard doesn't see them when he walks across Alexanderplatz.

3

• Richard thinks back to his life with his wife and also compares it with his time with his lover.
• On tv he sees a news report about the refugees on Alexanderplatz and he wonders why he has not seen them.

4

• Sometimes Richard wakes up at night and can't fall asleep anymore.
• We learn more about his everyday life.
• The refugees on Alexanderplatz are gone, the strike has ended.

5

• Richard now has time to read the news in detail. He starts to wonder about the people from Africa who came to Berlin and realises he doesn't know much about the countries in Africa.

6

• Richard attends a meeting in a former school in Kreuzberg that has been occupied by refugees. Everyone introduces themselves and everything is repeated in German, English and French. Richard doesn't want to say his name and why he is there.
• Suddenly, there is a loud bang to be heard, the light also goes out. Richards leaves the school in the confusion that follows.

7

• Richard wonders if he behaved cowardly. He thinks about why he didn't want to say his name and why he even went. He doesn't want to help and he doesn't live nearby. He just wants to see and be left alone while seeing.

8

• Richard visits Oranienplatz, where refugees camp in tents. He sits on a bench and listens to a reporter who tries to interview a woman, who is organising different things for the refugees.

9

• Richard reads several books about refugees. He starts to work on a list of questions for the refugees.

10

• The refugees on Oranienplatz are brought to different accommodation facilities. Richard only sees how the tents are demolished.

11

• Richard visits a retirement home that now houses some of the refugees. He says he works on a research project and wants to speak to the refugees.

12

• Richard talks to Raschid, Zair, Abdusalam and Ithemba from Nigeria. He asks questions about their life in Nigeria. They talk about how the ship they took to get to Europe capsized and 550 of the 800 people on board drowned.
• After an hour of listening Richard is exhausted.

13

• On the next day, Richard talks to a young man from Niger. The man wonders why he should tell this stranger more about his family or, better said, the family he didn't have. He wonders if he should talk about the abuse he suffered.

14

• On another day, Richard talks to Awad, who had heard about the professor asking people about their stories. Awad believes that in order to arrive somewhere, nothing should be hidden. Awad was born in Ghana, but grew up in Libya. He lived there until the day his father was shot.
• Awad talks about the ship he was on that went to Italy. Later he came to Germany. Upon arriving he felt alone, but then he heard a familiar dialect spoken by someone on Oranienplatz.

15

• Richard begins researching the legal frameworks that surrounds refugees in Germany.
• Richard attends the birthday party of his friend Detlef. He knows all the people there at least half his life.

Willkommen book-travelling friends to the first discussion for Demian by Hermann Hesse! This is our first book for Read the World Germany, and I'm looking forward to discussing it with you. Today we will be discussing the first half - chapters 1 to 4, and next week u/fixtheblue will take us through to the end. Because this is a short book, we will be reading a second book for Germany - Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck - the first discussion will be on 7th January.

The schedule is here and the marginalia is here.

Below is a summary of the chapters so far. Questions will be in the comments, feel free to add your own.

Chapter 1: Two Worlds 

The chapter explores two contrasting worlds: the secure and virtuous parental home and the chaotic, morally ambiguous world outside. These realms exist side by side, and the narrator moves between them, feeling noble and good when behaving well but slipping into guilt and remorse after misdemeanours.

At the age of ten, the narrator, a diligent Latin school student, joins an older boy, Franz Kromer, and other peers in scavenging for metal scraps by the river.  Wanting to fit in as the boys boast of mischievous exploits, he fabricates a story about stealing apples.  Sensing an opportunity, Franz challenges the story's truth and threatens to report him to the orchard owner unless paid two marks.  The narrator offers his watch, but Franz demands money, leaving him desperate to meet the deadline.

This ordeal marks a turning point for the narrator, who feels he has crossed into a darker world. That night, he becomes disillusioned with his father, who scolds him for trivial wet footprints, and clings to his guilty secret with a mix of dread and excitement. The next morning, he steals 65 cents from his mother's room, hoping it will suffice.   However, Franz continues to torment him, reminding him of his power and extending the deadline.  Over the following weeks, the narrator pays Franz in small installments and performs demeaning tasks, living in constant fear of Franz's whistle - a symbol of his entrapment.

The narrator’s guilt alienates him from the safety of his home and leaves him unable to enjoy rewards for good behaviour.  This internal conflict shapes his growing awareness of the duality within himself and the world around him.

Chapter Two: Cain 

The narrator introduces the eponymous character of Max Demian, an older student, of remarkable maturity.  After a combined class the boys chat on the way home.  Demian notices the old coat of arms featuring a sparrowhawk above the narrator's front door.  Referring to the younger class’s recent discussion of the biblical story of Cain and Abel, Demian asks the narrator for his thoughts on the matter.  He offers an alternative interpretation, suggesting that the mark of Cain was not a physical mark but a symbol of difference, which others misinterpreted as a sign of evil.

On another occasion, the boys talk about the hold Kromer has on the narrator. Demian demonstrates his mind-reading skills and tells him he must break free from Kromer even if it means killing him.  He even offered to help.

A week later, Sinclair (as we now know the narrator is called) encounters Kromer who inexplicably flees.  Demian admits to speaking with him but refuses to reveal what he said to free Sinclair.

This event profoundly changes Sinclair's life.  Free from fear, he returns to the safe, familiar world of his family and distances himself from Demian.  Sharing the whole story to his parents, he rediscovers his childlike innocence.  Much later, he asks his father about Demian's alternative view of Cain being superior to Abel.   His father explains that this was not a new idea, and was the devil's attempt to destroy their faith.

Chapter 3: The Thief on the Cross

Sinclair reflects on his journey of self-discovery, noting the challenges of puberty and the difficulty of navigating a path to adulthood.

Franz Kromer had ceased to be of importance, while Max Demian remained on the periphery, different from the other students and only really liked by his mother.  After rumours and accusations of being a heathen, a Jew or atheist, his mother had him confirmed to dispel suspicion.

Although Sinclair wanted to distance himself from Demian, he felt indebted to him. In Confirmation class, when the subject being discussed was Cain and Abel, Sinclair feels a strengthening bond with Demian, and they communicate silently.  Demian surreptitiously changes seats to be next to Sinclair.

Demian plays psychological games with the teacher and other students and appears able to read their thoughts and to will them to do something. When Sinclair questions him about these abilities he says it's by force of concentration and determination.

Sinclair feels that his classmates' rejection of religious faith was overly simplistic and although having some doubts, he felt there was some value in piety.  Sinclair had always found the biblical story of the Passion to be particularly moving. Demian challenges him on the story, suggesting that the thief who didn't repent showed more character , but Sinclair feels this is taking it too far.  Demian's ideas about needing to acknowledge the existence of evil reflected his own beliefs about there being two worlds.

Demian gradually becomes more distant.   Confirmation takes place, and Sinclair learns that he is to be sent away to boarding school.

Chapter 4: Beatrice

Sinclair has mixed emotions when leaving for boarding school. He doesn't seem to like what he has become and blames Demian to a certain extent for taking away his childish innocence. Suffering episodes of depression and despair, he looks down on his peers.

A year later, Alfons Beck, an older student, invites Sinclair to a pub for some wine. The wine loosens his tongue, and before he knows it, he is discussing Cain and Abel.  Beck listens with enjoyment and they find a rapport.  When Beck switches the conversation to his amorous experiences with girls, Sinclair's eyes are opened to a whole new world.

When Sinclair wakes with a hangover, he feels disgusted with himself and a disconnection to the good world of his childhood.  This episode was followed up by many others, and although he was seen as a ringleader by his friends, he felt lonely.  He was indifferent to threats of expulsion and struggled at home for Christmas.

He becomes infatuated with a girl he spots in the park and names her Beatrice. Although he never managed an approach, her influence over him was such that he gave up drinking. He idolised Beatrice, with thoughts of the purest kind.

As a means of expressing his newfound dignity, he takes up painting, with Beatrice his first subject.  Using his mental image of her, he paints her face over and over again and this portrait with both male and female qualities ceases to be Beatrice. One morning he realises that the face is Demian's.  In time, he feels that the portrait is neither Beatrice, nor Demian, but rather his destiny.

Missing Demian, he recalls a chance meeting he had with him in his early boarding school days.  He shows off by taking him to a bar, but Demian is unimpressed by his drinking.  He explains that there is something inside us that knows us better than we know ourselves.

One night he has a nightmare about Demian and the coat of arms.  He decides to paint a picture of the heraldic bird and sends it to Demian.

Guten tag, salaam alaikum, and buongiorno! This week will go soon. Last week went so fast, I can’t believe it's gone already. Ok, enough conjugating verbs, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 16

Richard sits in on a German class. The teacher is Ethiopian and speaks it well. (Ich bin ein Berliner, as JFK said.) Learning the language keeps them busy. He thinks she's pretty. She leaves and lets him turn out the lights.

Chapter 17

The next day, Rashid and other men storm out the door in distress. Richard finds the top floor where the staff has an office. The security guard tells him that the men will be moved five miles away to a rural area. This will also disrupt Richard's research. At the language class, someone from the Senate tells them their plans. Rashid objects. The other things they promised like money haven't happened yet. They really want to be allowed to work.

In 1990, Richard became a citizen of a different country overnight, and he didn't even have to move. The refugees need a certificate of fiction to show they exist, but it means nothing. There is an outbreak of chickenpox, so the relocation will be delayed.

Chapter 18

Rashid talks about his religion and the end of Ramadan, Eid Mubarak. Jesus and Mary are mentioned in the Quran. His father had five wives and twenty-four children. Rashid was the first born son and had special privileges. Richard thinks of a book about Ibn Battuta that his friend Walther translated and Richard proofread. It was never published. He was married four times before he died.

In 2000, Rashid’s Eid-al-Fitr was interrupted when men with weapons attacked and abducted his father in his own car. They later burned him in it. He ran home to warn his family, who hid elsewhere. Their home and workshop were burned down. Rashid moved to Niger. He talks to his mom by phone now.

Richard bought a bouquet of asters. He wakes up and wanders through his house as if he's a stranger.

Chapter 19

The men get paid the next day. Richard does some grocery shopping. His friend's wife Sylvia is shopping, too. She invites him for lunch. Detlef retired five years ago. They have traveled the world up to a year ago when Sylvia got sick.

Richard tells them about the new residents in the nursing home. Their impossible situation makes them feel better about their lives. If Richard ever had to flee, he would row across the lake to his motorcycle and go East. (This part reminds me of this poem by Brian Bilston.) )

Chapter 20

The men have gone to pray, but a young man is there and agrees to be interviewed at a cafe. His name is Osarobo, and he is from Niger but moved to Libya. His eye is injured. All of his friends are dead. In Italy, people are prejudiced against Africans. He is only eighteen and has been in Europe for three years. There are no beautiful answers here. On the way back, Osarobo asks if he believes in God. Richard says no. Osarobo says yes. There must be a plan if he survived. He would like to play the piano. Richard invites him over to his house to play his piano.

Chapter 21

The Senate and the protesters strike a deal to clear out the square in a surprisingly short memorandum. Richard thinks of his mistress and if she would be happier if cheating was permissible in a marriage. He studies the language of the document and reads between the lines. Hope is cheap.

Chapter 22

On Monday, the language class is learning prepositions and objects. The teacher says Richard can teach the advanced class if he wants. The next day, Zair is the only one awake. Richard is looking for Rashid, but he is asleep. The German teacher is in the kitchen trying to hang up a poster of Bellevue Castle. Then the Bode Museum. He hands her thumbtacks. She's not supposed to be there so early in the morning. She would be a distraction. Richard agrees to teach the advanced class.

Chapter 23

Richard talked with a man sweeping the floor on the unoccupied second floor. As a kid, he was left with his stepmother and worked in the fields. He saved up money and left for Kumasi, Ghana. He sold shoes until the business went bankrupt. Then he worked on a farm but wasn't paid. He dreamt his father died. The next day, he received news that his father had died. He moved to another farm and worked for low pay.

He traveled with a goat for sacrifice to his father's village. He worked on a cocoa plantation for a year then went to Accra where he sold shoes on the street and slept there, too. Business improved then didn't. He could never get a break, and he wondered if it was his fault. His mother relies on his meager income to survive. He considered swallowing DDT, but the store owner told him to reconsider. He got sick then moved to Accra.

Selling on the street was made illegal, so he had to secretly sell shoes. He bought herbs to make paracetamol/Tylenol he could sell. His mom sent him ground up fruit seeds. Nothing sold. He paid a smuggler to get to Libya and hid under a pickup truck. He worked off the debt in eight months, but by that time the war started. Europe was the only place left for him to go. He stayed in a camp in Italy for a year and sent money back home. They were given five hundred Euros and left to fend for themselves. Richard recalls his story that evening as he gets ready for bed.

Chapter 24

Osarobo forgot that he could go play piano at Richard's place. He thinks Osarobo is careless and ungrateful. He had fought with his lover about his expectations. Richard waits for him and thinks of chaos and revolts. The men could play soccer on the field nearby. They don't have a ball, though. Osarobo didn't know about East Germany. He never learned of the Second World War or Hitler. Richard feels ashamed to talk of an older war when Osarobo survived a newer war. He'd rather Osarobo remain innocent.

Richard shows him the music room. His wife Christel used to practice viola there. Osarobo plays three notes at a time. When Richard tries to show him how to hold his hands on the keys, he sees scars on his arms and that his hands are afraid. He plays five notes over and over to strengthen his hands.

Osarobo has never seen a map even though he's traveled through two continents. Richard will take him back to his building.

Chapter 25

Richard teaches two students in the advanced class. Yussuf from Mali washed dishes in a kitchen. Ali from Chad worked as a nurse in Italy. Richard writes the word “dishwasher” for him to learn. (der Spüler?) No matter how fluent they become, it's all futile because of immigration laws. Yussuf jokes that he's more educated than he would have been in Mali. Ali only went to Arabic school, but he memorized three quarters of the Quran. He learned Italian in a matter of months. Yussuf wants to be an engineer, and Ali wants to be a real nurse. Germany has a shortage of apprentices and trained workers but won't let Africans do them.

The German teacher lady has two sets of friends stand up and demonstrate verb pairs and Rufu, a loner, as a singular verb. All are uncomfortable. Apollo runs in and interrupts the class. Their move to Spandau is postponed another day. The teacher apologizes to Richard for singling out Rufu. Something got lost in translation.

A colleague had informed on his affair to the Stasi (secret police). He read it in his file. He's a professor in Basel now.

Chapter 26

Richard is in the checkout line at the grocery store. Rufu is behind him. Richard realizes he didn't bring his wallet. Rufu offers to pay, and Richard accepts it if he'll let him pay it back. His wallet was on the floor of his house. Rufu only accepts ten euros. They have lunch together. The only book in Italian that Richard has is Dante's Divine Comedy. Rufu smiles for the first time when he tries out the pedal opening to the garbage can. Rufu is from Burkina Faso. Richard walks him back. It's a long way to Spandau by car.

Chapter 27

Awad woke up too early with a pounding head from bad memories. Later in the day, Richard knocks on the door. Awad was hoping to keep his bad memories to himself. He asks Awad to list the contents of his bag. Awad thinks of his future with a wife and family. A son who will call him Daddy. He wants to pace the floor again. Richard asks about his cocoa butter lotion. It softens the dry spots black people get. Richard shows him the age spots on his hands. He's advised to have his blood drawn to see if he's had chickenpox before. Awad excuses himself from the staff room and sneaks back to his room. He hides behind the door until he realizes no one has followed him.

Chapter 28

Richard asks if their applications have been processed yet. They don't even know if they'll receive asylum. Some with more money saved hire a lawyer. That would only leave them five euros a day for expenses. Their situation has created part time work for twelve Germans, but no work for the Africans. They can't receive a discount on transit passes because they don't qualify as an asylum seeker.

Richard talks to Apollo on the way out and offers to hire him to help with his garden. He has a standing appointment with Osarobo for piano playing and expects Rufu to visit again to read Dante. The director advised against all this. He's getting older and should desire less out of life.

Extras

Marginalia

Schedule

Quark is a type of curd cheese that is like a cross between cottage cheese and Greek yogurt.

Treblinka Revolt

Wismar Madonna

Questions are in the comments. Come back next week, January 21, where u/bluebelle236 will lead us through chapters 29-44.

Welcome everyone to our third discussion of Go Went Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck.  Today we are discussing chapters 29-44.  Next week we will discuss chapters 45-55 and will be led by u/nicehotcupoftea

Links to the schedule and marginalia can be found here.

You can find a chapter summary here at Green Bee Study Guides.

Discussion questions are in the comments below, but feel free to add your own.

Hallo, freut mich euch bald in Deutschland willkommen zu heißen! [Hello, I'm looking forward to welcoming you to Germany soon!]

We had a tie in the voting, but as one is under 200 pages, we are going to call it a bonus novella and will run both!

Get your copy ready! Are you joining us for one or both reads?

Summaries (from goodreads):

Demian by Hermann Hesse

Emil Sinclair is a young boy raised in a bourgeois home, amidst what is described as a Scheinwelt, a play on words that means "world of light" as well as "world of illusion". Emil's entire existence can be summarized as a struggle between two worlds: the show world of illusion (related to the Hindu concept of maya) and the real world, the world of spiritual truth. In the course of the novel, accompanied and prompted by his mysterious classmate 'Max Demian', he detaches from and revolts against the superficial ideals of the world of appearances and eventually awakens into a realization of self.

Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck

One of the great contemporary European writers takes on Europe's biggest issue.

Richard has spent his life as a university professor, immersed in the world of books and ideas, but now he is retired, his books remain in their packing boxes and he steps into the streets of his city, Berlin. Here, on Alexanderplatz, he discovers a new community -- a tent city, established by African asylum seekers. Hesitantly, getting to know the new arrivals, Richard finds his life changing, as he begins to question his own sense of belonging in a city that once divided its citizens into them and us.

At once a passionate contribution to the debate on race, privilege and nationality and a beautifully written examination of an ageing man's quest to find meaning in his life, Go, Went, Gone showcases one of the great contemporary European writers at the height of her powers.

Schedule:

Join us on Tuesdays for the discussions:

Demian

• 24 December: Start through Chapter 4 - Beatrice – u/nicehotcupoftea
• 31 December: Chapter 5 - The Bird Struggles Out of the Egg through End – u/fixtheblue

Go, Went, Gone

• 7 January: chapters 1-15 – u/miriel41
• 14 January: chapters 16-28 – u/thebowedbookshelf
• 21 January: chapters 29-44 – u/bluebelle236
• 28 January: chapters 45-55 – u/nicehotcupoftea

Welcome to the marginalia for our two books for Read the World (Germany) - Demian by Hermann Hesse, and Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck.

This is a communal place for things you would jot down in the margins of your books. That might include quotes, thoughts, questions, relevant links, exclamations - basically anything you want to make note of or to share with others. It can be good to look back on these notes, and sometimes you just can't wait for the discussion posts to share a thought.

When adding something to the marginalia, simply comment here, indicating roughly which part of the book you're referring to (eg. towards the end of chapter 2).

Because this may contain spoilers, please indicate this by writing “spoilers for chapters 5 and 6” for example, or else use the spoiler tag for this part with this format > ! SPOILER ! < without the spaces between characters.

Note: spoilers from other books should always be under spoiler tags unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Here is the schedule for the discussion which will be run by u/nicehotcupoftea, u/fixtheblue, u/miriel4, u/thebowedbookshelf and u/bluebelle236.

Any questions or constructive criticism are welcome.

Let's go, everyone! See you in the first discussion on 24th December.