Books like knulp

Knulp is a 1915 novel written by Hermann Hesse. It was Hesse's most popular book in the years before he published Demian. The novel is split up into three separate tales which are centered on the life of the main character: Knulp. Knulp, who was once a gifted and promising youth, is depicted as an amiable vagabond perpetually wandering from town to town, staying with friends. He is liked by almost everyone he encounters in the novel for his manners and charming demeanour. He often receives charity from those sympathetic with him.

The first tale, titled "Early Spring", follows Knulp just after he had been discharged from a hospital due to his waning health. An old friend of his, a tanner named Emil Rothfuss, shelters him while Knulp spends his days aimlessly. During the tale he gains the affection of the tanner's wife, though he does not welcome her advances. He attempts to court a girl named Barbra Flick who had recently arrived in the town as a household servant. The chapter culminates after Knulp convinces Barbra to abandon her post in the night and dance with him. In the last words of "Early Spring", Knulp decides to leave the town despite a commitment with the tanner and his wife scheduled the following day.