Narcissus is a teacher at Mariabronn, a monastery in medieval Germany, and Goldmund his favourite pupil. While Narcissus remains detached from the world in prayer and meditation, Goldmund runs away from the monstery in pursuit of love. Thereafter he lives a picaresque wanderer's life, his amatory adventures resulting in pain as well as ecstasy.

His eventual reunion with Narcissus brings into focus the diversity between artist and thinker, Dionysian and Apollonian. With The Glass Bead Game, this is one of Hermann Hesse's signature works, one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century. This edition features a foreword from the musician and artist Graham Coxon which was extracted in The Times on its original publication.