Siddhartha

When I was in my mid-teens Siddartha was a coming of age journey about the search and discovery of what might be down the more difficult path. As a teacher I used this book for many years ( the discovery of sex had to be glossed over of course) to take both young men and women on the journey to find out who they were and what maybe they would like to be given the strictures of parental morality and public school dishonesty. This book I sent as a gift to someone who has taken many journeys, none of which led to that `ah ha` moment. They feel as if there is no tomorrow, and no more inviting pathways. The person is in their mid-40s. I am hoping that Mr. Hesses short novel can rekindle in this person the curiosity they once had about their unfolding world, and hope that through Siddartha that they can rekindle the hope required to take on a new difficult road with an open mind ready to take in new possibilities. Dr. Tim Scully

Siddhartha was a young Brahmin and thirsted for knowledge. Although he learned the art of saying Om and became the epitome of Braham, he was not happy and his curiosity was not satisfied. In order to find his true self, he decided to join Samanas. He became a business man, learned art of sex, became a rich man, lost everything, and became a ferry man. He finally understood that he knows that money is not important from the beginning, but in order to understand it, he has to be a rich man and a business man to experience such nauseated life. For me, Siddhartha is more sacred than Gotama the Buddha.

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!

I am thankful to have met the person who told me about this book, the person who wrote this book, and everyone else who have brought my life to this point where I could read this book. Thank you.

Many lessons for even the modern reader! This classic remains a classic for good reason. I dont think just one read through will be enough.

This is literature in the Mark Twain sense, a book I want to have read but dont want to read. First off, I want to mention that the translation I got was abysmal. When I first started reading I though it might be like the Spanish in For Whom the Bell Tolls, which is translated directly rather than idiomatically so you knew when they were speaking Spanish instead of English. Like How are you called? instead of Whats your name? But as I read on it was obviously not that. This wasnt someone writing in German but trying to convey the feel of Maghadi Prakrit, or whatever language would have been spoken where the story took place. No, it was someone who has a horrible grasp of English translating the original text. Badly translating, and not being edited AT ALL. Seriously, there were even points where the translators notes to the editor were left in, in German, with some words he cannot decide on the correct translation for. The left them in, in a different font and bracketed to make them obvious. The grammar was not just bad, but inconsistently so. The same sentence would be repeated in the same context and the verb tense would change. Commas would, randomly, be, placed so that they made no, sense. And the word choice was so bad that no subtlety of meaning was conveyed anywhere. In case Amazon smooshes this review in with reviews for all versions, mine was the paperback with the green cover and gold Siddhartha on top and Herman Hesse in green on a gold stripe along the bottom. If you insist on reading this book dont buy this version. As for the book itself, ignoring the fact that it was translated by someone for whom English was probably not their primary language, I thought it was awful. I always heard stories about how it changed peoples lives, changed their view of the world, and the like, so I guess I had too grand of an expectation. Im giving it three stars because, for some reason, lots of people seem to like it so Im obviously out of the mainstream. But I threw my copy in the recycle bin rather than give it to a friend, I thought it was such a stupid story. The story is very linear. It is stilted, contrived storytelling at best. Without throwing in spoilers, you have to suspend belief to understand that characters and events all happen (even decades apart) at the exact time and exact place with the exact people you know. There would be absolutely no reason for many of these coincidences, and theyre obviously just a plot device. The philosophy is similarly contrived. Its the story of the son of a priest who wanders around what I assume is Maghada (because thats where Buddha attained enlightenment) trying on different lives until he finds his own enlightenment. Hes an amazingly crappy, selfish, small minded, self centered, awful human being. He has no control over himself, even though he was supposed to have been an ascetic. He has no regard for anyone else, either. The story assumes that you have to be lustful if you engage in commerce, that you have to be evil if you are part of the material world, and that the only path to true spiritual enlightenment takes a lifetime void of any practical applications. Even after setting up all these straw men, it is still not compelling in how it tries to knock them down. Im sorry to say it, but you cant have a billion beggars and expect everyone to get fed. The people looked down upon, called children (though confusingly so as its bad in one context but childlike in the context of the Buddha is a good thing -- I think that was the horrible translation) and worse pejoratives, are the only reason those shaven headed beggars had rice in their bowls and an ex whores pleasure garden to sleep in. Those children are viewed as lesser animals because the hero of the story couldnt love himself, couldnt stop gambling, abandoned his pregnant whore girlfriend and future son, and decided to sit beside a river and row a boat for a couple of freaking decades to think. Somehow this special dude, this guy who listened to the water for 20 years before he finally thought of something came to the same conclusion that every damned stoner burnout in the parking lot of a Dead show worked out the first time the dropped a tab and listened to American Beauty at the age of 19. God is everywhere, Everything is connected, blah blah... I suppose if youre 15, or you really havent read anything too deep, and you dont know anyone from anywhere other than your tiny town, this is mind bending. If you read Jonathon Swift and though he just wrote a book about a dude who got to see giants and tiny people, Siddhartha is just about your speed. If you honestly think he wanted the Irish to eat their babies, then Siddhartha will totally wrinkle your brain. If you understand allegory, farce, or metaphor, skip this one and move on to something written for adults.

Even a great writer can overreach. The story this tells of a holy man who starts a search for enlightenment, sort of finds it, is seduced by wealth, leaves it, etc. etc. The book is certainly readable. The characters (except Siddhartha) are not well developed or simple walk-ons. But at the beginning, middle and end I find myself wondering exactly what religion is described. I am no expert in eastern religion but feel as if the book mixes Buddhism and certain Hindu sects... but thats just me. Maybe I dont understand what he was getting at when this book was published, in German, 92 years ago. But it is readable, doesnt take long to read and is sort of a feel good book.

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.

Despite having Buddha on the cover, this book is neither a biography of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, nor is it an endorsement of Buddhism. The fictional protagonist, who is confusingly also named Siddhartha, has a vaguely similar spiritual journey to the historical Siddhartha Gautama, and even meets Buddha himself, only to ultimately reject his teachings and continue down his own path. The main philosophy or ideology being endorsed here is instead self-determinism: if enlightenment can be said to exist, each individual must find his or her own path to it. Following the teachings of someone else will leave you grasping, and trying to instruct someone else--even your own children--will be useless; they have to experience life completely on their own. I did not like the protagonist, I did not like the story, and I did not like its message. Siddhartha seems like a stand-in for Hermann Hesse himself, trying to make sense of his own beliefs. The book reeks of self-importance and the conclusion is not earned. The entire book is rather boring as well.

Sometimes You just want to take action After Reading a book. I know I’m Reading a great book When IT triggers me to think About My own life and to think about What new things I want to do or experience. This book Really Give me the desire to find happiness in small things. It gave me a desire to slow down a bit and look at ordenary things with childlike quriosity. I just wanted to meditate and write and become extremely happy after Reading This book. I wish I Read IT earlier.