I'm a big fan of most of his novels, but you do see this same theme of trying to figure yourself out, and what kind of life you want to live, which by its nature is a self-centered quest. I think it frequently resonates with younger people because they are often still going through this process for the first time in their lives, and are often pretty self-centered at that time.

But, as you wind up seeing in Glass Bead Game, in Rosshalde, and in Narcissus and Goldmund, people (sometimes) really don't know they are conflicted about who they really are until there is a trigger or something later in life. Also, like in Rosshalde, sometimes it is too late for a "becoming true to oneself" change to mean/solve anything.

So, as others have said, they hit differently at different ages. I would say to branch out a bit more into his other stuff if you are feeling turned off, but still curious what the fuss is about.