Kate Langenburg/A&E Groove
Welp, just knocked off another book this morning. Of course, this one is by Hermann Hesse, one of the best writers in literature. The Journey to the East was another one of those books that didn’t leave me disappointed.
It all starts with the main character, H.H., who is a part of the League, a group of known and unknown musicians, writers, artists, and whathaveyous. They are making a journey to the east on foot so that each of them can somehow achieve one life goal. H, while on his quest, decides that he will document the story of their travels without giving away any of the League’s innermost secrets.
During their travels together, they all meet a servant named Leo, who H is taken with right away. He feels there is something more to this character other than just his servant appearance. One day Leo goes missing and H gets so distraught he abandons the journey to the east under the assumption that all others in League have also done so.
The rest of his life is spent trying to write his book about the League and he never gets anywhere with his writing. After some time, he learns of where Leo lives and goes to visit him. It turns out to be a disappointment for him because Leo doesn’t recognize him. However, the next day, Leo visits H at his house and summons him on a trek to the League.
The end of the book is most poignant — Leo turns out to the President of the League, not a servant, and H is brought to trial before them for leaving. H is happy by this news, as it means the League is still in membership and they invite him back in, even though they consider him an abandoner. The rest of the book deals with H’s own self discovery as a person so he can finally be at peace.
This book has a lot of valuable self realization messages in it: Don’t judge a book by its cover. The road to self discovery may not always be the path you expect. Take a minute to open your eyes and be aware of things around you. Your way may not be the only way.
And if you read and enjoy this book, you will love his most famous novel Siddhartha.
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