Demian vs Der Zauberberg: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: German language materials, German fiction, Germany, Continental european fiction, Fiction

Cover of Demian

Demian Hermann Hesse · 1919 ★★★★☆ 4.1 171 pages · ≈ 3 h 10 m · Challenging Find on Amazon

vs

Cover of Der Zauberberg

Der Zauberberg Thomas Mann · 1924 ★★★★☆ 4.1 711 pages · ≈ 13 h 10 m · Demanding Find on Amazon

The verdict

Ratings are close: 4.1 vs 4.1 — either is a safe pick by score.
Demian is the quicker read — about 3 hours vs 13 for Der Zauberberg.
Demian is the easier read (Challenging), Der Zauberberg more demanding (Demanding).

Side by side