Rosshalde by Hermann Hesse
Author: Hermann Hesse
Title: Rosshalde
Original Publication date: 1914
Original Language: German
Edition: 1972, translated by Ralph Manheim
Publisher: Picador (Pan Books Ltd)
# of pages : 154
Source: Second Hand via an online bookshop
(NB: Originally this cost a whole 40p back in the 70s! Nowadays this would cost about £8 new, and can cost up to £14!)
Summary/Back of the book:
Veraguth, a famous painter, and his wife live on their idyllic country estate, Rosshalde. They are deeply alienated from each other - the only bond between them is their little son, Pierre. The visit of a friend from the Orient intensifies Veraguth's sense of desolation. It takes tragedy to free him for the physical and spiritual adventure of his own journey to the East.
My review:
I'd never heard of the book before joining this community (though I had heard of Hesse), nor had I read anything else by Hesse prior to picking up this book.
From reading other reviews it seems that there are some who feel this particular translation (1970 - Ralph Manheim - Farrar, Straus & Giroux Inc) is lacking somewhat and does not convey into English how Hesse comes across in his native language or in other translations. I wouldn't know, as I've never read any other translation of this book, nor have I any expectations when it comes to Hesse. I was essentially going in blind, which I think worked in my favour. (I also think the size of this book helps - there are only 154 pages, so not enough time to really let the characters wallow as much as they might have in a longer book.)
Rosshalde is the story of a failed marriage. It's easy to see that Hesse drew Veraguth's experiences from his own life - apparently Hesse had several failed marriages of his own. The story is somewhat autobiographical - not only was Hesse struggling in his own marriage at the time, but he also took a trip abroad visiting Sri Lanka and Indonesia, and the estate of Rosshalde is based on a painter's house where he and his wife lived, in Bern, Switzerland.
What I liked most about this was how Veraguth and his son are tied together. Veraguth is miserable and lonely. The beginning of the book has a scene where Veraguth wanders through the garden and spies on his wife and son as they talk about flowers and names. Veraguth feels somewhat lonely, uneasy, and has the clear thought that he will not let his wife take Pierre from him, as he feels she did with their first son. For Veraguth, the bright spot in his existence is Pierre. Pierre is innocence and light. He is like his father in temperament and appearance. He wanders between both parents as they fight for his affections, still unaware as his older brother is of how an unusual situation it is. Veraguth yearns for his own youth and sees something of himself in his son - he is nostalgic, wanting to go back to how it was before, with young loves and hopes and dreams and no failed marriage behind him. He doesn't see what he has before him, but only what he has lost. Later, Pierre too wanders through the garden in a similar way, finding little joy in all the things that once brought him pleasure, echoing his father somewhat from the earlier scene, even as far as spying on his mother and older brother and feeling jealousy as his father did.
The forewarned tragedy (mentioned in the blurb and utterly predictable) is also foreshadowed several times throughout the book. By the time I got to the end, I was not in the least surprised about what happened. The fact that the plot was so predictable took some of the enjoyment out of it.
In Veraguth, Hesse creates something of an extreme in terms of that nostalgic feeling we sometimes get for the past - Veraguth embodies the sort of person who is dissatisfied with their lot and can only see what they do not have, rather than what stares them in the face. Veraguth did not see that he had his little son to invest in, to love and cherish and watch grow into a man. He did not see that it would take only a few small steps to amend relations with his estranged wife and older son. His friend, too, did not see this - his friend was the devil on the shoulder of Veraguth, imploring him to join him on his travels abroad, to abandon his wife and children and leave them to their own lives.
I can understand why some readers would have no sympathy for this character, nor for any of the others. Veraguth is miserable and has given up on life. His wife is empty and cold, his older son is spiteful and full of hatred, and his younger son is spoilt and precocious. Even the servant, Robert, is not so likeable. However, I did feel sympathy for them, though I can't fully explain why.
There are some lovely descriptions in this book. When Veraguth is painting and observing, for example, and when he is reminiscing. The descriptions of childhood and innocence, the sad scenes towards the end, the confession to Otto towards the end of his visit... I can't comment on the translation but I did find some of the quotes to be quite wonderful.
All in all I did enjoy this book and would definitely recommend it, despite it's flaws. If you're new to Hesse this would be a good one to start out with.
Title: Rosshalde
Original Publication date: 1914
Original Language: German
Edition: 1972, translated by Ralph Manheim
Publisher: Picador (Pan Books Ltd)
# of pages : 154
Source: Second Hand via an online bookshop
(NB: Originally this cost a whole 40p back in the 70s! Nowadays this would cost about £8 new, and can cost up to £14!)
Summary/Back of the book:
Veraguth, a famous painter, and his wife live on their idyllic country estate, Rosshalde. They are deeply alienated from each other - the only bond between them is their little son, Pierre. The visit of a friend from the Orient intensifies Veraguth's sense of desolation. It takes tragedy to free him for the physical and spiritual adventure of his own journey to the East.
My review:
I'd never heard of the book before joining this community (though I had heard of Hesse), nor had I read anything else by Hesse prior to picking up this book.
From reading other reviews it seems that there are some who feel this particular translation (1970 - Ralph Manheim - Farrar, Straus & Giroux Inc) is lacking somewhat and does not convey into English how Hesse comes across in his native language or in other translations. I wouldn't know, as I've never read any other translation of this book, nor have I any expectations when it comes to Hesse. I was essentially going in blind, which I think worked in my favour. (I also think the size of this book helps - there are only 154 pages, so not enough time to really let the characters wallow as much as they might have in a longer book.)
Rosshalde is the story of a failed marriage. It's easy to see that Hesse drew Veraguth's experiences from his own life - apparently Hesse had several failed marriages of his own. The story is somewhat autobiographical - not only was Hesse struggling in his own marriage at the time, but he also took a trip abroad visiting Sri Lanka and Indonesia, and the estate of Rosshalde is based on a painter's house where he and his wife lived, in Bern, Switzerland.
What I liked most about this was how Veraguth and his son are tied together. Veraguth is miserable and lonely. The beginning of the book has a scene where Veraguth wanders through the garden and spies on his wife and son as they talk about flowers and names. Veraguth feels somewhat lonely, uneasy, and has the clear thought that he will not let his wife take Pierre from him, as he feels she did with their first son. For Veraguth, the bright spot in his existence is Pierre. Pierre is innocence and light. He is like his father in temperament and appearance. He wanders between both parents as they fight for his affections, still unaware as his older brother is of how an unusual situation it is. Veraguth yearns for his own youth and sees something of himself in his son - he is nostalgic, wanting to go back to how it was before, with young loves and hopes and dreams and no failed marriage behind him. He doesn't see what he has before him, but only what he has lost. Later, Pierre too wanders through the garden in a similar way, finding little joy in all the things that once brought him pleasure, echoing his father somewhat from the earlier scene, even as far as spying on his mother and older brother and feeling jealousy as his father did.
The forewarned tragedy (mentioned in the blurb and utterly predictable) is also foreshadowed several times throughout the book. By the time I got to the end, I was not in the least surprised about what happened. The fact that the plot was so predictable took some of the enjoyment out of it.
In Veraguth, Hesse creates something of an extreme in terms of that nostalgic feeling we sometimes get for the past - Veraguth embodies the sort of person who is dissatisfied with their lot and can only see what they do not have, rather than what stares them in the face. Veraguth did not see that he had his little son to invest in, to love and cherish and watch grow into a man. He did not see that it would take only a few small steps to amend relations with his estranged wife and older son. His friend, too, did not see this - his friend was the devil on the shoulder of Veraguth, imploring him to join him on his travels abroad, to abandon his wife and children and leave them to their own lives.
I can understand why some readers would have no sympathy for this character, nor for any of the others. Veraguth is miserable and has given up on life. His wife is empty and cold, his older son is spiteful and full of hatred, and his younger son is spoilt and precocious. Even the servant, Robert, is not so likeable. However, I did feel sympathy for them, though I can't fully explain why.
There are some lovely descriptions in this book. When Veraguth is painting and observing, for example, and when he is reminiscing. The descriptions of childhood and innocence, the sad scenes towards the end, the confession to Otto towards the end of his visit... I can't comment on the translation but I did find some of the quotes to be quite wonderful.
All in all I did enjoy this book and would definitely recommend it, despite it's flaws. If you're new to Hesse this would be a good one to start out with.