Georg und Thea oder Das Buch

A young man in Bern lives a reclusive life on the outskirts of the city. He has fallen in love with Thea and has had an impressive encounter with her that is meant to remain the only one. Georg, as the man is called, immerses himself in his feelings, perceiving the world in all its splendor and uniqueness, only to see it again as gray and threatening. He decides that, contrary to all agreements, he wants to see Thea one more time to give her, worthy of her love, an impressive farewell gift. It is to be a book. After a long search and much contemplation about what makes a book valuable and appealing, and how a book must be that contains a whole life, he finally finds it in the antiquarian shop of a friend. He goes to Thea to present it to her. The author, a fan of Hermann Hesse, describes Georg's immersion in this world with a high degree of accuracy and sensitivity. He wrote this narrative in his youth.