Steppeulven

"Steppenwolf" is a poetical self-portrait of a man who felt himself to be half-human & half-wolf. This Faust-like & magical story is evidence of Hesse's searching philosophy & extraordinary sense of humanity as he tells of the humanization of a middle-aged misanthrope. Yet this novel can also be seen as a plea for rigorous self-examination & an indictment of the intellectual hypocrisy of the period. As Hesse himself remarked, 'Of all my books "Steppenwolf" is the one that was more often & more violently misunderstood than any other'.