A Brief Review of Hermann Hesse's "The Journey to the East" by Chuck Trunks (Trunks Art)

Nampa, Idaho - April 25, 2026 - When I discovered that Hermann Hesse’s The Journey to the East (1932) was written as a follow-up to his famous novel, Steppenwolf (1927), a book I finished reading just last month, I was intrigued, expecting a continuation of the life and times of his despairing alter ego, Harry Haller. Instead, I was introduced to an entirely different kind of tale based on a mythical pilgrimage to find answers to life’s most existential questions. However, I wasn’t disappointed, as Hesse is well known for having established his niche between embracing the gift of life and sensing the absurdity of it all.

While reading The Journey to the East, I was asked innocently enough by a fellow bookworm, “What’s it about, and are you liking it so far?” Honestly, I didn’t know what to tell her. “I have no idea—the jury’s still out on this one,” I replied. Thankfully, the obstinate old mule in me kept me on task, prodding me along to finish reading the book in its entirety. Whether I was reading about a dream remembered by the central character, an older man in his early 60s, or a figment of his imagination, it didn’t matter—the theme was clear: H.H. was after spiritual meaning in a world dominated by busyness and superficiality.

Hesse suggests, at the conclusion of his novella, in a scene reminiscent of a Greek tribunal if it were held in St. Peter’s Basilica, that we achieve true spiritual meaning simply by providing service to others, which is congruent with my philosophy regarding human suffering. Through personal experience, I’ve discovered that we’re all suffering in some way or another. Be it self-inflicted or imposed by misfortune, suffering finds its only solace in relieving the pain of another. So when I see my reading friend again, I plan to tell her, “The verdict is in.” The Journey to the East isn’t a book I’d recommend to just anyone; it’s for readers who are already familiar with the path of enlightenment.

-Chuck Trunks

“This work was written independently by the author without the use of generative AI.”

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All my books can be found on Amazon. 💓💓💓

Trunks Art moved from Columbia, South Carolina, to Nampa, Idaho, in 2025 and has made this city his home and writing inspiration.

To see more of my work, please have a look at more posts or email me at chucktrunks@gmail.com. Or, visit my website at www.trunksart.com.  Also, you can find me on Instagram (chucktrunks) and Facebook (Chuck Trunks).

A Brief Review of John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" by Chuck Trunks (Trunks Art)

Nampa, Idaho - April 20, 2026 - Had I read John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath (1939) in high school, college, or even 20 years ago, I would’ve said, “Thank goodness those wretched days are behind us.” But after finishing this most famous book yesterday, I now understand the French aphorism, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” In the 1930s, drought, economic collapse, and advances in industry and technology displaced well over 2 million Americans, mostly from plains states like Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri. Instead of receiving the help they desperately needed, their innocence, ignorance, and disadvantage became targets of inhumane treatment by cold-hearted profiteers who saw these hungry and homeless people as threats to their livelihoods and opportunities for exploitation.

The story follows the multi-generational Joad family, tenant farmers from Sallisaw, Oklahoma, as they head west on Route 66 in a modified 1926 Hudson sedan toward Bakersfield, California. On the way, they suffer one indignity after another—usually at the hands of deputies hired by powerful landowners to keep the unwanted “Okies” moving west. The exhausted Joads endure unspeakable catastrophes on the way to the promises of work and prosperity, driven by the unyielding will of their matriarch, Ma. Yet, upon their arrival in the soil-rich Central Valley of California, they encounter even worse tragedy and abject poverty.

As I read the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, I couldn’t help but draw parallels between Depression Era America and the post-COVID 2020s, where present-day record-level wealth and income inequality, artificial intelligence, robotic automation, and global warming are driving a substantial percentage of the population from the supposed American Dream to an unsettling hand-to-mouth existence. The Grapes of Wrath shatters the illusion of a just and benevolent society, offering instead a harrowing, raw look at the sickening business mantra of “greed over human need”—a reality best understood by those who have been reduced to mere casualties of the all-important profit margin.

-Chuck Trunks

“This work was written independently by the author without the use of generative AI.”

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All my books can be found on Amazon. 💓💓💓

Trunks Art moved from Columbia, South Carolina, to Nampa, Idaho, in 2025 and has made this city his home and writing inspiration.

To see more of my work, please have a look at more posts or email me at chucktrunks@gmail.com. Or, visit my website at www.trunksart.com.  Also, you can find me on Instagram (chucktrunks) and Facebook (Chuck Trunks).

NEW STORY coming this spring: "Pillars of Society" by Chuck Trunks (Trunks Art)!

Nampa, Idaho - April 7, 2026 - An excerpt: “When I first met you,” Fitz continued, “you seemed like a normal caterpillar—a little too serious and particular for my taste, but I liked you anyway. Back then, you were married, had a nine-to-five job, and lived in a house you owned. You used to do things and go places. Now, you’re single, don’t work, and rent where they’ll have you. You isolate yourself, dedicating all your time to reading, writing, and researching topics nobody cares about anymore. And yet, you walk around with this self-importance, believing you have the answers to life’s most mysterious questions as if—”

“Fitz, that’s enough!” hissed Bethany.

 

The premise: Do you know what the United States of Private Equity Firms needs right now? A lower cost of living? Non-profit health care? A government that actually represents the interests of its taxpayers? Nope. It needs an allegorical tale of personal transcendence as told through the interactions between four fuzzy caterpillars. Carl, Bethany, Fitz, and Sigmund live and work in a colony located in a secluded pond surrounded by wetland trees and dotted with water lilies. Each represents one of four distinct, survivalist responses to crumbling capitalism and the ascent of fascism.

 

-Chuck Trunks

 

“This work was written independently by the author without the use of generative AI.”

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All my books can be found on Amazon. 💓💓💓

Trunks Art moved from Columbia, South Carolina, to Nampa, Idaho, in 2025 and has made this city his home and writing inspiration.

To see more of my work, please have a look at more posts or email me at chucktrunks@gmail.com. Or, visit my website at www.trunksart.com.  Also, you can find me on Instagram (chucktrunks) and Facebook (Chuck Trunks).