Siddhartha (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

2nd time around

I had to read this book for a literature class in high school. Lately, I've been returning to some of my high school assignment books to see how they read now that I'm older and in a different mind-set. The first time I read this, I wouldn't say that I hated it, just rather indifferent to it. I just re-read it and......wow! What a great story about the search for wisdom and enlightenment. It makes the very valid point that while knowledge can be taught from one person to another, wisdom simply cannot. It is acquired through one's own experiences. No truer words were ever spoken and I think it is a point that not everyone recognizes.
A wonderful and relatively easy reader, Siddhartha contains messages that can be appreciated by anyone who questions the hardships and meaning of life.

18 out of 19 people found this review helpful.

Siddhartha Book Review

Herman Hesses' novel depicts the journey of a boy who seeks knowledge and wisdom and quickly finds himself in times of love, devotion, and wisdom. Determined to find his path to enlightenment he witnesses and encounters the hardships which include the path of addiction and trials of his runaway son consumed by greed. Even through all his heartache he is lead by his guide, a mysterious ferryman, through his losses and recuperates by finally achieving his greatest wishes. Siddhartha shows us that the real goal in life is to be complete and always accept your hardships because in the end it is all worth it.

7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

Amazing

This is an amazing little treat, that you don`t want to miss out on. I like Herman Hesse anyway and it was by complete accident that I found this book. It is short, but you get immersed.
A few things about the author: Hesse is a Nobel Prize laureate, born in Germany, but a Swiss writer.He wrote Siddharta in 1922. He had previously, back in the 1910s, visited India.The story focuses on Siddharta, the son of a Brahmin, who leaves his home (the story takes place in Nepal around the time of Gautama Buddha) in search of enlightenment and it recounts the experiences, the events that lead him to reach nirvana. The stories, the people, the events that he encounters all add up to him reaching a deeper understanding of the universe. In the beginning of the story, he actually meets Gautama (Gotama) Buddha, who by then reached the perfect state and listens to his teaching, but decides that he should learn to reach enlightment through his own experiences, not someone else`s teachings.
The style is quite simple, yet at times it reaches almost poetic heights. As I mentioned earlier, this is a very short novel, but it took a long time (and surely a long spiritual journey) for the author to write.
I highly recommend Siddharta, and other works of Herman Hesse as well.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

The most beautiful book I've ever read.

This book is short, but packed with so much power. Its prose is simple, but it's what's written between the lines that is so thought provoking. I would actually say that this book changed my life every time I am going through a rough time, I think back to Siddhartha and I'm calmed a bit. Pure wisdom.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Excellent read

Thought provoking and profoundly moving. I really loved the language and the subtle and nuanced writing. Great to read and reread

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Brilliant Vision of Life

This book-length tale may be the finest of its kind. It's a book about life, about finding out how to live it properly.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Interesting, But...

This is a classic for anyone interested in Eastern religions/ways of life, but don't expect a real epic adventure. The book is as slow moving as its characters. I was more excited to start reading it than I was actually reading it. However, it holds multiple life-long messages, all extracted from an author who has respectfully learned them first-hand. It's short & precise, and reminds us how cool monks are, even if it's not original (it's nearly identical to the acclaimed story of the Buddha). Read it, learn from it, move on!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Therapeutic

I read this recently during a painful break-up/separation from my wife. At the time I was convinced we were getting divorced. Reading this book made me realize that I was going to be fine whatever the outcome. Once I stopped pouting around and enjoyed life with or without my wife, she came back. I credit this book with saving my marriage.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A quick but powerful read

This is not a long book, but you'll read every word, and many paragraphs twice. It's filled with insight, drama and high emotion. Tons of introduction before and notes after to set up the story and author, then explain references. A true "Classic."

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

DON'T BUY Superior Formatting Publishing version

Great book, lousy version! Full of typos, misspellings, repeated words and gibberish. A rip off even at 99 cents. It looks like they simply scanned someone else's and then never bothered to proof or even spell check. I'd like to get my money back from BN if I could figure out how.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly Recommended

This book is about a man's journey seeking the ultimate truth. For me, three points stand out. First, the journey is long and hard. It takes a life time to reach. Second, it is hard for everyone, even those who are supposed to be superior in spirituality. Third, humbleness and love for all are the necessary conditions for achieving that ultimate goal.

It is a book of great inspiration. For anyone who is interested in spirituality, this book is a must read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Wow

Whoa!! That was such a good story. Had to read for school and didnt expect to like it. I loved it and definitely recommend. Really makes you think.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

One of the most enlightening stories ever written. A very intros

One of the most enlightening stories ever written. A very introspective
book that can make one re evaluate ones own self

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Journey

If you are looking for your own spiritual journey... you will be inspired after reading this book. Simple and meaningful. Definitely one of my all time favorites!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Book Worth Reading

I picked up this Hesse classic on my Nook after a recommendation from a friend. I had never read Hesse and knew nothing of the book's history before reading although I had studied some basic Buddhism in college. In a sense the college work gave me a nice base from which to think a little deeper about some of the concepts Hesse presents through this wonderful story. But, I think one with no prior knowledge of Buddhist beliefs could still stand to gain much from this book. The book is a nice read, well written and just the right length I think for Hesse to present his story. Not too complex and yet not too simple. I highly recommend it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great Read!

I really didnt expect to like this book so much, but it is so worth it! So much meaning! For all you people who say it is boring, you people need to take a deeper look inside yourselves.

Beautiful

Loved it

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not just for buddhas

There aren't many books that beckon a second or third reading. Siddhartha has to be read again and again, partially because it's a good book, but mostly because its lessons are so easy to forget. If I told you that the book's main teaching is 'Go with the flow', that would be a vast oversimplification, but it wouldn't be too far off the mark. I've seen it compared to 'Don't Worry, Be Happy'. Now that makes me take offense. Probably the best analogy to Hesse's book comes from the movie Van Wilder, of all things. The protagonist in that awful story says: 'Worrying is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere.'

Incredibly, that movie, surely without knowing it, offers both a summation and a critique of Siddhartha. Hesse's protagonist learns and therefore advises us not to let even major problems get to us. However, Hesse's solution seems to be to let go of materialism and many worldly (secular) values, in return for mental and emotional satisfaction. I'm not sure that's the best way to go. It seems a bit like the flip side of the rocking chair problem. Worrying may indeed get us nowhere, but letting go of a significant part of our hold on the world probably wouldn't get us any further. After all, as satisfied as our minds may be without material desires, they are themselves made of material, and in reading one of the few passages where the Bible got it right, we find that we will return to the dust of the earth, with or without nirvana, salvation, or any other kind of 'spiritual' satisfaction.

There is great value to be had from this book, though, and within the material world (the only world) at that. Tempering our worries with perspective and context is a valuable lesson that can be teased from this book, and it's also easy to forget, making return trips to Siddhartha worth it, despite the infinite spiral of unanswerable questions it so easily draws from us.

Slow but FANTASTIC!!!

This book is AWESOME!!!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Alright

Its more of a adult read than a high school read

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.