HESSE, Herman. Narcisse et Goldman.

(Paris): Calmann-Levy, 1948.  First French edition.  Softcover.  18.7cm by 12cm.  325 pages.  Translated from the German by Jean-Pierre Guillerm.  The first French translation of Hermann Hesse’s celebrated novel Narziß und Goldmund (1930),  The book explores the duality of the spiritual and the sensual through the contrasting lives of two medieval friends—Narcisse, a monk devoted to contemplation, and Goldmund, a wanderer seeking experience and beauty. Widely regarded as one of Hesse’s masterpieces, the novel continues the author’s lifelong meditation on art, identity, and the reconciliation of opposites.  A very good copy in printed wrappers.