Siddhartha

This is an excellent read. I am not a big fan of religion and topics in said matter so I was quite apprehensive when I picked up the book. I read the book because it was part of a 10 mind blowing books list I found on the great wide intraweb I challenged myself to read. Needles to say I was completely surprised when I finished the book. While expecting it to be full of religious jargon not once during the entire time did I feel that this was a religious book that compelled me to repent and change my ways. Siddhartha is more a story of self discovery and allowing oneself to experience life as it comes and to grow from it. It is a story about love, anger, friendship, peace, sorrow, loss, and self reconciliation. It is a story abut coming to peace with oneself and accepting our choices and their consequences come what may. I am proud to include this as one of my top favouriite books, which is not an easy thing for a true bookworm to say.

There appears to be many versions available for the Kindle. I can only comment on this version that I have read on my DX. The translation appears to be excellent and in the true spirit of the lyrical style of the novel. However, I noticed a few minor issues. First, there were a number of instances where the translator used the incorrect word (e.g. woman vs. women and want vs. went), but it did not detract from my overall enjoyment of the novel. Second, the other problem I noticed was with formatting. It did not appear to be optimally formatted for viewing on the screen. I had to adjust the text and I could not eliminate gaps in many sentences. There are no links to the various chapters. Overall, this is a great book to own for your Kindle at a great price!

Yes, the Kindle edition has some typos and translation issues, but these are the sorts of issues that are par for the course reading translated texts, you can certainly get the overall gist of the story. Its an acceptable edition. Siddhartha is beautifully written, and worth reading. Its essentially a collection of essays, each trying to explain and illustrate concepts of Buddhist thought. The first story stands alone, and is as close to perfectas literature gets. The short version of the story is that a young boy named Siddhartha is trying to learn to lead a more perfect life, and after many trials and tribulations he comes to meet a mystic by the name of Gautama. For anyone who doesnt know, Siddhartha Gautama is the full name of the Buddha. This story serves as a biography for how the young Siddhartha came to be the Buddha, while at the same time serving as a metaphor for how people of the time- or indeed you as the reader- can come to understand the Buddha and his teachings. From that description alone you should be able to see all the layers in this book, its wonderful. The book does everything right. Its a good story on its own, but its also written in the style of Buddhist literature. There is a lot of repetition, as were present in the Buddhas own words, without getting annoying. There is adventure, metaphor, allusion, and biography. Its food for thought. Anyone worried about this sounding overly religious or hokey need not worry- the stories here are just as powerful if you read them in a perfectly secular way where the Buddha was just a wise man and not any kind of deity. As someone whos advanced in Buddhist/Zen thought myself, the message of the opening chapter is absolutely perfect. This continues through the book. If you want a play-by-play for exactly what Englightenment is supposed to be, how to attain it and how to live with it, the first story is one of the best examples Ive ever read. Id almost go so far as to say that you cant read the first chapter without getting it- its just too perfect of a description of what Enlightenment is- but human beings have an amazing ability to miss the point. So this book is great prose in and of itself, read as pure fiction its lovely. As a biography of the Buddha and his travels, its light on detail but rich in imagery. As a how-to manual for meditation and better living, its similarly amazing. An all-around class act, I wish this text- in a better translation- would be mandatory reading for anyone who wants to consider themselves learn-ed.

Ill preface my comments by stating that I read this in anticipation of possibly teaching. Having been a student of Postmodernity and Postcolonialism in Graduate School, I thought Id grab ahold of Siddhartha and really just run with it. Hesses depiction of Siddharthas journey into his inner peace and truth was fascinating, but leads one to feel that peace is a journey that is merely an apparition of ones beliefs at a given moment. Having said that though, I dont want to make my review about philosophies and not writing, so Ill stick to Hesses writing and story. Overall, I found it fascinating, but in the end, I have gained much more understanding of contemporary issues into eastern philosophy through more Booker Prize winners and their approaches to fundamental questions of life. Also, Booker Prize winners tend to be authors from the culture they write of. Please dont get me wrong here, I enjoyed Siddhartha, but might choose something less sophisticated in its philosophies for my own students.

I have been interested in the Philosophical aspects of Hinduism and Buddhism and find Siddhartha a lovely story of a Brahmin boy who broke away from the ritualistic tradition practiced by his parents. He left home, along with his close friend, Govinda, in search of the meaning behind his existence. After studying the austerities and practices of Samanic Tradition and developing occult powers, he left the Samans to move on to listen to the teachings of Buddha. He highly valued and respected Buddha as a teacher, yet he decided not to join the congregation of monks and left to experience life on his own in search of his own meaning. During the subsequent journey, he falls in love, has a child, and finally moves on to live with a ferryman on the banks of a river. In the end, he learns a lot from the ferry man and from the river. His quest for freedom is finally fulfilled. I love this book. A movie was also made based on the story.

Since Siddhartha was a name of Buddha, I assumed the book was about the Buddha. It’s not, and yet it is. Hesse wrote some of the deepest and most amazing books I’ve ever read; he was truly worthy of his Nobel Prize. “Siddhartha” is one of the best, and one I’ll read again, many times. Almost as good as what I consider Hesse’s best, The Journey to the East. A few things about the translation in the early pages made me question whether this was worth reading or whether I should find a better version. It didn’t take long until I was hooked in and forgot about the translation issues. Those problems rarely resurfaced in the rest of the book, and only in minimal ways. Rich in the lore and mysticality of ancient India, “Siddhartha” tells the tale of two friends who are seekers after truth, the divergent paths life led them down, and their reunions. It’s also the story of a simple, humble man who knew only a quiet life on a great river, yet learned the highest wisdom from the river. For all seekers after truth who love great literature.

I found this book to be a little boring, but at the same time enthralling and inspirational. It has a slow and monotone pace, very much like the story of Siddhartha himself. I didnt find myself excited to pick up the book to continue reading, but when I did I had a hard time putting it down. Most people can probably find a few nuggets of wisdom, new ways of looking at the world, and a source of inspiration when we might feel sad or lacking inspiration. If nothing else, its an interesting story that will make your think deeply about the self, the universe and how it all relates to each other.

I read this book last week on my Kindle app. Interesting book. Makes you think a lot about the meaning and purpose of life. Not quite sure what to believe and what not to believe. I guess one thing I took from this book was that my life journey will be by own. I will have to make my own mistakes to learn from them. Not sure if this is what book referred to. Recommend folks to read for themselves and draw their own conclusions.

I really liked this book. Although there are several other key characters, the book is mainly about a thoughtful young Brahman in India. He is looking for true reality. I think the thoughts and meditations of this young man were insightful and beautifully written. The book has some influences from Hinduism and Buddhism that are also interesting. If you dont like slow-moving books or character studies, this is not the book for you but I enjoyed it very much. This particular edition has quite a few typos and small mistakes. They were not bad enough that they were a large distraction or hindered my reading.

I read Siddartha about 40 years ago along with all of the other books written by Hesse, a number by Kafka, and other existentialist authors. Im so glad I took.the time to read it again. Reading it now, in my sixties, my perspective is findamentally different than it was in my twenties. With Siddartha, Hesse wrote something simultaneously similar to and different from his typical fare. He delved into Eastern Mysticism and my very limited knowledge of Buddhism tells me that he got it right. Siddartha is the story of a young Hindu, a Brahma ftom a high caste family who gives up everything in his search for truth and self. Throughout the book, he uses his knowledge and skills to prosper in whatever venture he might try... be it religion, business, or love. None however fill the void, or answer his question, what is it all about? Finally, it the river that calls to him and brings him the answers he has always sought. Siddartha is a book that can be enjoyed by everyone including those seeking answers themselves.