The Stone and the Flute

By Hans Bemmann

Book Overview

Setting out to find his grandfather, Listener carries with him a mysterious stone which takes him far away to do great harm. But, through the magical powers of the stone and his grandfather's flute, he also comes to find happiness and to possess a power greater than life itself.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670801860
• ISBN13: 9780670801862
• Release Date: May 1986
• Publisher: Viking
• Length: 855 Pages
• Weight: 2.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 20.0" x 20.0" x 20.0"

Customer Reviews

The Stone and the Flute

This book is a little slow and is often a little biblical in its propensity to give advice and teach life's lessons. I recommended it to a few folks who didn't finish it. Personally I loved it and am now reading it for the second time to my daughter and she loves it. It is very memorable and interesting to me. It is a journey of a young man, named Listener, as he discovers the meaning of life and searches for the meaning of his magical stone. A fantastic and malevolent story you will remember for the rest of your life. Some things that I found captivating were Listener's attempt at reparation (voluntarily becoming a slave) for doing harm to the person he later served, and also his mutating thought process when he was partially changed into an animal. Hans Bemmann is a master at drawing the reader into the story to a different reality, yet believable because you are there. While Listener didn't accomplish everything he set out to do, the reader discovers that the journey and peace of mind is the important part. You also experience a lifetime with Listener. The book starts with his birth and ends with his death. It is rich with folklore and tradition, love and loss, greed and selflessness, and human prejudices and vices. It also makes you want to learn how to play the flute.

Best Book I've Ever Read

Ironicly enough The Stone and the Flute sat on my bookshelf for 2 years before I actually picked it up and read it. You see I had gotten a box full of old books from a friend of mine who was moving out of his apartment. He said there was a bunch of old role-playing junk in it that I might be interested in. Well, I found that the box was mostly full of useless junk and I threw out most of the items. I don't know why, but I guess I put The Stone and the Flute on my bookshelf instead of tossing it. Anyway, after years of sitting on the shelp I finally decided to pick it up and give it a try. Honestly I didn't expect much. I never heard of this book before. How good could it possibly be? Oh how surprised I was. I found that it was the richest piece of literature I had ever read. The story evoked emmotions that would stay with me for days. When I finished the book I was extremely dissapointed, not because it was a bad ending, just because I knew I could never go back in time and read it for the first time again. Well since the first time I read the book I have tried to pass it on to all my friends. I reccomend this book to anyone who is looking for the deeper meanings of life.

A story about the complexities of life

"The Stone and the Flute" is one of the most emotional and gripping books I have read in a long time. Hans Bemmann describes a web of events that boggles the mind. The story of Listener, a boy who inherits a stone and a magic flute, is a tale of what we can accomplish and the untold hardships we must encounter. The most intriguing part of the book is the constant reminder that it is not an end or goal that we must seek. Additionally, we must also consider the repercussions of our actions.

An involving, and enthralling tale with a very dark soul

"The Stone and the Flute" is easily one of the best books that I have read in the last ten years. I stumbled across it in a library about 8 years ago, and I have still to find a book that has entertained and challenged me as much as this one.It begins very light in tone, detailing Listner's quest to find his Grandfather - but as he travels and tries to discover the mysteries of a beautiful stone given to him by a dying warrior, the story becomes darker - and looks at self obessions and how by looking for one thing, we often over look a lot more.This, at time heart-wrenching and at others hilarious, tale is beautifully paced, and will leave you wanting more by the end.One of the best. Comparable to Lord of the Rings in it's epic scale - and emotional content. You won't be dissapointed.

A Quest of Spirit and Life

The Stone and the Flute by the underrated German author Hans Bemmann is a surreal yet passionate tale I highly recommend. The protagonist of the story, Listener, is naive and trusting, and constantly finds himself lost in a changing world. Unlike other fantasy novels, the hero does not undergo a definitive "quest" but rather his journey is into life itself, with its many side roads and gray ambiguities. The novel stays with Listener from his birth until his death, and throughout the course of the novel, he must deal with death, love, marriage, betrayal, and ambition. Good, bad, right, and wrong are shown as shady areas, as we see the human nature of evil and how sometimes deep wrong can be committed by doing what seems right on the surface. Throughout the novel, the reader is also plunged into Listener's terrifying dreams and the haunting melodies he creates from the flute given to him by his grandfather. Both the most beautiful and disturbing novel I have ever read, the story and its themes have never left my mind.