Hermann Hesse

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Hans_Sturzenegger_-_Hermann_Hesse_mit_Panamahut%2C_1912.jpg

Hesse made his bones as a westerner who appropriated various strands of eastern philosophical and religious traditions, but filtered them through an essentially western interpretation and reworked them into narratives with allegorical elements. That's his basic contribution to the canon. But I have trouble with his novels because, for me, he never quite figured out how to marry his ideas with compelling narratives. I'd rate Steppenwolf as probably his most successful, if only because it came from a more personal and urgent place and broke through his tendency toward awkward and labored exposition.

I loved the Glass Bead Game when I was in my early 20s but I don't think I'd dare re-read it: current me would see straight through it, I think?

I read a lovely short book of his, Wandering, a spiritual autobiography built around his walks in the Italian Alps.

I would never bother with Jesse again but that sounds nice

Hesse