Paperback, 152 pages

English language

ISBN:
978-0-553-12529-0
Copied ISBN!

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (32 reviews)

Hermann Hesse wrote Siddhartha after he traveled to India in the 1910s. It tells the story of a young boy who travels the country in a quest for spiritual enlightenment in the time of Guatama Buddha. It is a compact, lyrical work, which reads like an allegory about the finding of wisdom.

67 editions

Beautiful Dreamer

5 stars

As part of my "classic a month" reading goal, I picked something a little shorter than the tomes I tackled in the first quarter. Now I wish this book were a bit longer. I can't imagine what this must read like in the original German but the English translation sings.

In a nutshell, Siddhartha - son of a Brahman, raised on spiritualism - leaves home on the journey of his lifetime. The language feels like a Buddhist sutta - spun out with evocative language, overflowing with symbolism, and carrying lessons for the ages. In this case, all of Siddhartha's ages from callow youth to old man. At every turn he thinks, "At last, this is enlightenment." At each turning, he discovers that one thing still eludes him.

The story swept me along, recognizing myself in so many of his mis-steps and mis-conceptions. I'll be thinking about this book for a …

Review of 'Siddhartha' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A really beautiful book, full of poetry and teachings, this one goes directly in my Life Changing category. I must admit that I didn't know much about Siddhartha before reading this (my only glimpse was the movie Little Buddha so...), and this was really interesting. It teaches you a lot about how everything intertwines, but also how to deal with pain, longing, patience, suffering, and life as its whole.

avatar for jkobyp

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Simoto

rated it

4 stars
avatar for cocohoney

rated it

3 stars
avatar for alembic

rated it

4 stars
avatar for ahynes1

rated it

5 stars
avatar for jeroen

rated it

5 stars
avatar for lakelady

rated it

4 stars
avatar for WarYarnSpinner

rated it

5 stars
avatar for memorysnow

rated it

4 stars
avatar for melanderland

rated it

4 stars
avatar for liambean

rated it

3 stars
avatar for jeffbenner

rated it

5 stars
avatar for notableduck

rated it

4 stars
avatar for SpaceCamel

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Seedling

rated it

3 stars
avatar for kit

rated it

4 stars
avatar for 4thace

rated it

3 stars
avatar for archduke

rated it

1 star
avatar for caltf4

rated it

4 stars
avatar for lilith

rated it

5 stars
avatar for thisfro

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Instruch

rated it

3 stars