Narcissus and Goldmund

<p><b>'One of his masterpieces . . . without doubt a great novel' <i>Guardian</i></b> <p>One of Hermann Hesse's greatest novels, <i>Narcissus and Goldmund </i>is an extraordinary recreation of the Middle Ages, contrasting the careers of two friends, one of whom shuns life in a monastery and goes on the road, tangled in the extremes of life in a world dominated by sin, plague and war, the other staying in the monastery and struggling, with equal difficulty, to lead a life of spiritual denial. <p>An superb feat of imagination, <i>Narcissus and Goldmund </i>can only be compared to such films set in medieval Europe as Bergman's <i>The Seventh Seal </i>and Tarkovsky's <i>Andrei Rublev</i>. It is a gripping, profound reading experience - as startling, in its different way, as Hesse's <i>Siddhartha </i>and <i>Steppenwolf</i>.</p>