SOLVED. Herman Hesse: man who was loved by everybody [s]

[Dini]

Can anybody help me with this? The book was written by a German, Herman Hesse (he also wrote a book about Buddha called Siddharta).

The story starts with a mother who was granted one wish (by some kind of fairy or angel, I think) for her son. Her wish was that her son will be loved by everybody. But as a result her son grew as a person who is so used to be loved and cared about and pampered by all people that he himself cannot feel love for anyone. In the end the fairy (or angel?) came back and granted the man one wish: to be able to feel love.

I've searched Goodreads for Herman Hesse's books but there were very little descriptions/reviews... help me!! Thanks beforehand.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer]

Hello Dini!
The story you're looking for is called "Augustus" and can be found in an anthology of Hermann Hesse's short stories published in 1972 called Strange News From Another Star. It's an outstanding collection of some of his fairy tale/fantasy stories. In 1995 Bantam Books published that short story again in an anthology entitled The Fairy Tales of Hermann Hesse, which is still in print in paperback for $16.00. I highly recommend it. Hesse was a fantastic author.

[Dini]

Wow, thanks a lot Krista! I've posted this so long ago and nobody replied, I thought it's probably because not many knew about Hesse. I haven't read any of his other works myself. I really should get my hands on that book... Once again, thanks so much!

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer]

I'm glad I could help. If you liked "Augustus", I'm sure you'll enjoy his other short stories. I can also highly recommend his novels Siddhartha and Journey to the East (and his poetry isn't bad either). I love his mystical style of writing. Enjoy!