Journey to the East

Journey to the East is a short novel by German author Hermann Hesse. It was first published in German in 1932 as "Die Morgenlandfahrt". This novel came directly after his biggest international success, Narcissus and Goldmund.

Journey to the East is written in the point of view of a man who believes he has lost contact with "The League", a timeless religious sect whose members include famous fictional and real characters, such as Plato, Mozart, Pythagoras, Paul Klee, Don Quixote, Tristram Shandy, and Baudelaire.

A branch of the group goes on a pilgrimage to "the East" in search of the "ultimate Truth". The narrator speaks of traveling through both Time and Space, across geography imaginary and real. The narrator, however, is unsure of exactly the meaning of reality.

Although at first fun and enlightening, the Journey was ultimately unsuccessful. The disappearance of a simple servant, Leo, caused the group to plummet into anxiety and argument, eventually falling apart completely.

The narrator has, after the failure of the journey, lost contact with the group, believing it to no longer exist, and this book documents his struggles with emotions, memories, and present state of being, as he tries to set down in words a history of their great and important Journey. Feeling as though he fails to do even this, he sets out once again to discover the League's sense of Truth.