Spa Guest: Notes from a Baden Cure

Hermann Hesse

Sep 2023 · Newcomb Livraria Press

About this ebook

"I cannot read Hermann Hesse without feeling that I am drawn into the presence of a deeply serious mind, a mind that is searching for the meaning of life." - Carl Jung

A new translation of Hesse's 1925 "Spa Guest", also translated "Resort Guest" (in German "Kurgast").  This edition also contains an epilogue by the translator, a philosophical glossary of concepts used by Hesse and a chronology of his life and work. Hesse won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1947. He also received the Goethe Prize of Frankfurt in 1946 and the 1955 Peace Prize of the German Booksellers.

"Spa Guest: Notes from a Baden Cure" is a critique of the superficiality of society, especially intellectual bourgeois society. The protagonist reconciles himself with life through laughter and connects with nature as a representation of the inherent unity of the world. This novel portrays Hesse's disdain for the intellectual bourgeois world and emphasizes the importance of authentic connections with nature.

About the author

A German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter, Hesse’s literature deeply explores the individual's search for self-knowledge, authenticity, and spirituality. Influenced by Eastern philosophy, Nietzsche and Jungian psychology (he was a personal friend of Jung), his works like "Siddhartha" and "Steppenwolf" became emblematic of the counter-culture movements of the 20th century and literary manifestations of Continental Philosophy. Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946, Hesse's highly individualistic and spiritual narratives continue to inspire personal growth and Socratic self-awareness