Journey to the East

Hermann Hesse's 1932 short novel The Journey to the East reads much like a trial run for what would be his final novel, The Glass Bead Game, published in 1943. Journey explores themes of service, leadership, the contemplative life, and the difficult tasks historians face—set against the backdrop of a mystic journey whose destination becomes increasingly unclear. The narrator is a man known only as H.H. It is believed that H.H. stands for “Hermann Hesse” and that H.H.’s project is a metaphor both for Hesse’s life and for his writing, including the novel in which H.H. appears.

The novel begins with H.H. announcing his intention to recreate in writing a fabulous “Journey to the East.” He undertook the journey as a member of what he calls the League. The aims of the League are vague, and H.H. is bound by a vow of silence: he cannot divulge the League’s purpose. Nevertheless, he is determined to give an accurate historical account of the Journey.

After describing his initiation into the League and the formation of the group with which he would travel, H.H. quickly grows unsure of himself and his writing. As he tries to remember what befell the group, he describes the story he has to tell as incomprehensible and gibberish.