Similar in style to "Sophie's World" by Jostein Gaarder, this is a book about philosophy using the plot of a novel to present its ideas, although with more maturity and depth than this comparison. The main narrator is the Steppen Wolf himself - a self-concious and depressed man cynical of the bourgeouis soceity in which he lives. Although a very distinct character, we are able to empathise with his experiences and the thoughts he has. We follow a great change in the Steppen Wolf as he is introduced to new relationships and a very different culture and way of life to that which he endures at the beginning of the novel. The reader is presented with an alternative method of thought, looking deeper into the obvious and ourselves.

Nothing more need be said of this classic except of its guarantee to captivate the reader and force upon them obvious questions perhaps never asked before - one of those books you find your mind drifting back to long after its back on the bookshelf.