Lin Yutang once wrote that Henry David
Thoreau’s Walden could be translated
into Chinese and passed off as having been written by a local, none the
wiser. The concepts, verbiage, and
background ideology so much in tune with the Eastern mindset, the bounds of
culture can be transcended. I dare say precisely the same could be done of Hermann
Hesse’s Wandering: Notes and Sketches.
A personal, heartfelt collection of
essays, poems, and watercolors, Wandering
is an experience as much as personal reflection. Hesse retreating into the mountains of
northern Italy to regain direction in life after experiencing hardships, the
prose pieces are imbued with nature, its power to soothe the soul, and a sense
of anchoring one’s self back in the simple realities and universal spirituality
of life.
Hesse’s eloquent style is on full
display. The lyrical beauty with which
he wrote his novels manifests itself in the essays and poems in this
collection, as well. Likewise on display
are many of his paintings. The originals
unfortunately lost to time, each chapter heading nevertheless presents a black
and white rendering of the watercolors Hesse painted in his time of convalescence
in Italy. Perhaps not to be displayed in
the Louvre, these paintings nevertheless compliment perfectly the bucolic,
spiritual, and organic feel of the collection.
Trees, roads, fields, and farmhouses the subjects, the collection is
enhanced for them.
In the end, Wandering is a perfect collection of short essays on the grace and
beauty of nature, of finding one’s self in solitude, and of the transcendent
beauty of life. Readers of Thoreau,
Emerson, Chinese poetry, Whitman, Daoism, and those who simply appreciate the
thoughtful side of seclusion in nature will in general find something to
appreciate about the collection. Klingsor’s Last Summer undoubtedly
influenced by Hesse’s time alone, those who enjoy that novella may also enjoy
this collection.
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