Demian vs Der Zauberberg: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: German language materials, German fiction, Germany, Continental european fiction, Fiction
Demian
A young man awakens to selfhood and to a world of possibilities beyond the conventions of his upbringing in Nobel Prize winner Hermann Hesse’s beloved novel Demian. Emil Sinclair is a quiet boy drawn into a forbidden…
vs
Der Zauberberg
“AN ORDINARY YOUNG MAN was on his way from his hometown of Hamburg to Davos-Platz in the canton of Graubunden.”
One of the most influential and celebrated German works of the 20th century has been newly rendered in English by Woods, twice winner of the PEN Translation Prize. First published in 1929, Mann's novel tells the story…
1 film adaptation
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Demian is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 13 for Der Zauberberg.
- Demian has the widest readership — 144322 ratings behind its score.
- Demian runs the darker storyline; Der Zauberberg stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Demian | Der Zauberberg | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.1 (144322) | 4.1 (65520) |
| Hardcover | 4.0 (313) | — |
| Google Books | 5.0 (1) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (64) | — |
Reception
| Demian | Der Zauberberg | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 144322 | 65520 |
| Editions | 176 | 188 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 92643 | 199435 |
| Reading it now | 7731 | — |
| Written reviews | 11727 | 5864 |
| Wikipedia attention | 21166 | 17423 |
| Pages | 171 | 711 |