Glass Bead Game

The big question posed to me by the Glass Bead Game is whether, in a strange kind of way, Hesse managed to foresee the development of the internet and global connectivity. The story is set in the fictional realm of Castalia, in the far distant future, when the inhabitants - led by the Magister Ludi (master of games) - endlessly and laboriously play the eponymous game. What's in play is the entire sum of human knwoledge, and the best moves are the ones that deploy wisdom most elegantly and tellingly. Hesse won the Nobel prize for the book in 1946, and ever since the jury has been out as to whether it's his best or worst work. Having re-read it very recently - after a gap of almost 30 years - I suspect the former.

I blow hot and cold about this book. There is no doubt in my mind that Hesse's 'Steppenwolf' is a great book but this one is either a long winded pile of nothing much in particular or it's a work of genius. I suspect the former but it's stayed with me for a very long time so it must have something going for it!