I was so excited to read Glass Bead Game. I waited till the end, having read most of Hesse's other major works before tackling his magnum opus. I was so disappointed in it, and I too put it down. Part of me wonders if something was lost in translation with that work.

No, it's bad in German too. Millions of German high school students read the other Hesse books but nobody finishes Glassperlenspiel.

I read a French translation of it a decade ago and remember it as a fairly interesting book. It has an intriguing premise which it uses cleverly to explore a large range of subjects, is fairly well written and is an interesting commentary on what constitutes a bildungsroman.

It is not particularly plot driven however so I'm a bit confused by the idea of it going somewhere.

I suppose technically I have abandoned it too, but I will never admit to it. I fully intend to pick it up again and finish it so it sits on the shelf and stares at me instead.

I read it when I was young and enjoyed it. Tried to reread it recently and didn't get very far. Maybe it hasn't aged well.