The Complete Fairy Tales of Hermann Hesse is collection of fairy tales written by Hermann Karl Hesse, a German poet and novelist as well as a Nobel-Prize winning laureate, and was published in 1995 by Bantam Books. The stories have mainly been inspired by German Romanticism and Eastern religion.
Hesse includes 22 fairy tales in his collection, all of which consists of a fantasy world driven by dreams and visions. The fairy stories Siddhartha, Steppenwolf, and Demian have all been noted for mirroring events that actually occurred in Hesse’s life, which further adds a personal touch to the collection. The collection also explores the prevalent issues that dominate society. In the story “The European," Hesse denotes frightening imagery and scenes of a barbaric society rules by war and bloodshed.
The collection covers a wide range of genres and critics have praised it for Hesse’s ability to addresses the moral and psychological implications of society.
