Journey to the East

H.H. is the narrator of the novel, and it is worth nothing that the initials H.H. are those of the book’s author, Hermann Hesse. Much of The Journey to the East can be read as a meditation on the creative process, or more specifically, the act of writing a novel—or reconstructing a history contingent on memory—as a metaphor for a journey. When the novel begins, H.H. announces his intentions to write a history of the Journey to the East, which he undertook as part of a group called the League. He describes himself as a violinist and a storyteller, and one of his responsibilities is to provide music for the group. His unique goal on the Journey is to win the favor of Princess Fatima.

After Leo’s disappearance, H.H. undergoes the same doubts and trials of faith as the rest of the group’s members. When he returns to his post-Journey life, he is listless, uninspired, and given to periods of despair. As his work on the manuscript stalls, he contemplates suicide. During a conversation with a historian and author named Lukas, he is given the idea to look up any Leos in the phone directory. He finds one in the neighborhood of Seilergraben and visits.