From the Bookshelf of James Mustich's 1000 Books to Read Before You Die…

The Glass Bead Game

Hermann Hesse,

Richard Winston (Translator),

Clara Winston (Translator),

Theodore Ziolkowski (Foreword)

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Nov 05, 2013 Laura rated it really liked it

Shelves: german-literature, audio-books, science-fiction, read-2013, 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you

From BBC Radio 4 - Classical Serial:

Joseph Knecht is a rising star in the Castalian Order, a band of elite intellectuals who live a closeted life of study and Glass Bead Game playing. But Joseph's elevation to one of the highest and most respected ranks of the Order coincides with a crisis of conscience, as his ever deepening doubts about this idealistic and sanitised society threaten to topple its very foundations.

Joseph Knecht is singled out from an early age as one of the Castalian elite. As ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Aug 16, 2025 Jack rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, 2025

The Glass Bead Game took only three or four chapters to hook me. It’s already jumped into my favorites list and I cannot get it out of my head. I am convinced this book is due for a renaissance—and that it has never been more relevant than today.

There are two things that made me love it. First, it’s playful. The novel itself is a kind of glass bead game. The writer is describing his craft in a kind of metaphor.

But the second thing about this book is what it anticipates—natural language processin ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 31, 2009 Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance rated it it was amazing

Shelves: creativity, must-read

I read this in my senior year of high school for my class, Western Thought. I thought it was one of the most fascinating books I had ever read. It is a book I've thought about a lot and I've always intended to read it again. ...more

1 like · Like · see review