The stories of Hermann Hesse address many themes. He writes about childhood and youth, about life in the countryside and in the city. He often explores love, nature, and magic, as well as the lives of outsiders. Young people around the world particularly enjoy reading his stories. I was 18 years old and worked as an intern in a small factory in my hometown. I enjoyed the summer and my youth and felt the sense of transition between childhood and adulthood, even though I had no name for that feeling. The writer Hermann Hesse (1877-1962) is known worldwide. His novels, stories, and poems have been translated into more than 60 languages and are spread around the globe. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize for Literature.