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.

12 out of 13 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.

4 out of 4 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.

2 out of 2 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.

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!

1 out of 1 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.

1 out of 1 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.

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!

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.

Alright

Its more of a adult read than a high school read

Great

Spiritual adventure.

One of my top 5 favorite books of all time.

AP World History Review: a description of my opinion of the book

"Siddhartha" was a great book. My favorite part about this book is how the author used symbolism. The author used symbolism to express greater thoughts. An example of this is the river that Siddhartha reflects in his own life. Siddhartha learns to understand through the rivers' "om". Om is a representation of meditation and when Siddhartha finds om in the river then he finds unity in his self. The river also represents the flowing of Siddhartha's life. The river is always moving and doesn't stop for anything, like life. Another example is the songbird. When Siddhartha travels to the sinful city of Samsara, he meets Kamala. Kamala has a rare song bird that she keeps caged up. After 20 years, Siddhartha has a dream that the song bird dies and sees it as his inner self dieing. He decides to leave the city. After he leaves, Kamala sets the bird free because she is heart broken. After leaving and being away for awhile, Siddhartha realizes that the "song bird" within his self is still alive. After seeing the affect that symbolism had on the book, I think the author completed his purpose well. The authors' purpose was to show how the world altered the mind of Siddhartha. The author expresses this by symbolism and conflict. Throughout the book Siddhartha is going through different kinds of conflict, internal and external. By going through different kinds of conflict, Siddhartha realizes the struggles within himself and the world. After realizing how difficult the world is, Siddhartha realizes that he must make himself happy to reach Nirvana. He must keep himself happy by moving on and never stopping or allowing someone to stop him in his path, like the river. He realizes that he must be free and not have anyone hold him back, like the songbird in the cage. This book was a good book and I would recommend it to anyone who is not just learning about the life of Siddhartha, but to anyone who is learning about life itself.

Enlightening.

A wonderful enlightening journey.

Life changing

This is on my Top 10 Best Books of All Time list. You will reexamine the way you view life. It's is crushing and uplifting in the same breath. It's a shorter book, but don't be tempted to read it all in one sitting. Savor every sentence, let it marinate in your psyche, you will wonder how you never thought like that before.

Oh

You need to be high to understand it. Unfortunately, I do not do drugs.

0 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

So-So LL

This book was neither easy nor fun to read. It did not provoke any thoughts in me. Why? Maybe I am not a deep person. Maybe I have already seen in my forebearers Siddhartha's journey through life. Maybe his journey was flawed by his own hand. A million things to ponder. Nah, I am just not a deep person.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Pure Wisdom

Siddhartha is a book written about the journey of a young Brahmin to a wise old man.It is a book written for anyone interested in Middle Eastern religion and ways of life. Although this topic may sound extremely intriguing to some people, this was not the case for me. I only began reading this book because there was nothing else to read at the time.
At first, the plot was slow-moving and I didn't really see the point. This book was boring me so much that I had to stop reading it and find something more interesting.
Weeks later, with a new mindset, I gave the book another try. I paid attention to the life-long messages that the author was portraying in between the lines. These small details in the plot were what I found most thought-provoking.
As Siddhartha continued his journey to understand perfection, to understand Om, I began to understand the story. It was not about Siddhartha finding Nirvana, but about Siddhartha realizing the perfection of life and why the good and bad aspects of it are both important.
After finishing this book I realized that it had left a huge impression on me. It had influenced my ways of thinking about and seeing the world around me. I can actually say that this book, Siddhartha, changed my life. Herman Hesse's writing is what I would define as pure wisdom.

A wonderful addition

This book is beautifully written and translated, telling the story of a wonderful teacher with grace and almost poetic reverence.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

a favorite

i have read this book twice and i highly recommend it. the depth and meaning is great. it is a truly amazing book.