Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant and all heart
Review: This book is a spiritual masterpiece. Hesse writes with such simplistic and eloquent grace that just pours off the pages. I read this book shortly after reading Narcisus and Goldmund and was shocked to find that this one was even better. It is a masterpiece. It is very short but stays with you for a long time. Hermann Hesse was so far ahead of his time writing about Buddha from the west then when now today The Dalai Lama's book line up along the best seller shelves. Siddartha is incredible and profound. You can feel clearly the imagination that Hesse had of these times, this world, and this spiritual philosophy. I could read this book again and again. If you are interested in Buddhism, or eastern thought at all you would be ever so pleased by this wonderful eastern tale of of Buddhism and boundless love that is written with such beauty. Enjoy it as I have. It is 100% heart
Rating: 
Summary: The true purpose of our life to find our inner-self...
Review: Siddhartha now identifies itself as one of the worlds most widely translated books. I have read this book in various languages such as Punjabi, Urdu and English. There is this one thing that i found common about all the versions... they are all equally beautiful and insightful. Siddhartha makes you think... It makes you contemplate on things that we hardy think about in today's fast-paced world. The book tells us that we all have to find our inner-self... out soul. Siddhartha starts as a story of a Brahmin (A higher caste Hindu, There are four castes in the caste system of Hinduism where the lowest, Shudras, are untouchables and hieghest, Brahmins, are the most well respected.) and moves slowly... as his life takes many changes... from Samsara to Nirvana, every stage in the life of Siddhartha teaches a lesson. He learns throughout... not from a teacher neither from a book... he is his own mentor his thoughts act as his book. He tastes everything... from self-sacrifice to greed, lust and fear. His unfolding destiny carries him... or maybe he carries his destiny... There are points where every reader stops to question himself - Do I know my inner-self well enough? Siddhartha is a lovely book... every word touches your heart - its smooth - like crystal blue water cascading down the stream!
Rating:
Summary: Synthesis Of The Soul
Review: As a final year philosophy student at a British university much of the philosophy I have studied has been Western orthodox with no Eastern philosophy on the syllabus. For that reason this book was a breath of fresh air. If you want to widen your horizons, to envelop new ideas, thoughts and philosophies this book is a must. It brings together western and eastern traditions of thought and in doing so it serves to open up the mind. It is a story about an individuals quest but ultimately the quest is a universal one. At some stage in Siddharthas journey we will all recognize ourselves, and hopefully we will heed the wisdom that lies within the book. A wisdom that doesn't consist in offering us a set of pre-packaged rules for living our lives, rather it is a wisdom that insists on our listening to and in following our hearts, in accepting the flow and ebb of life. It suggests that we can all perceive the unity which runs throughout our lives, that in time we will see that true harmony requires a plurality of notes. There are aspects of this book which refer to that which has no name. Siddhartha's experience at the river reflects Hesse's unwillingness to communicate this to us, indeed the subject matter requires that it be inexpressible. There are no recognizable directions or maps which will take us there, it is a condition of our experiencing it that we find it within ourselves. "Truth must be lived not taught.
It is not found in theories and books." It is found within.
What lives within is near, all other things are far away.
Everyday is full, yet somewhat inexpressible.
The water
Not just water "But...the voice of life.
The voice of Being.
Perpetually Becoming."
Ever changing.
The water continually flows, and yet it is always there.
It is always the same, and yet every moment it is anew. Prevailing over the sequence of ripples,
Where we glide and sail,
Buoyant.
Rising and falling with the waves,
In the rain of aeons
Water washed and unexplained objects come to stay.
Exotic things.
Underline their solitude,
In the flux of melodies, played eternally in foreign harbours.
Composed of notes; high and low.
Melodies as soft as...
Tears
Falling as...water The river knows everything.
There is no such thing as time.
The river, it is everywhere
"At the source and at the mouth,
At the waterfall,
At the current,
At the fountains
In the ocean and in the mountains"
In all places, at all times. Binding. Sea-breath, shall whisper...
The creatures it enfolds
Are related to the things they knew as human.
Only the present exists for it. Not the shadow of the past
Or the spectre of the future.
Seperated only by shadows not by reality
Carefree, serene, secure from injury. The water.
Not just water.
"But...the voice of life.
The voice of Being.
Perpetually Becoming."
Ever changing
Beneath the silent cycle of the stars.
Reflecting the flux
Still.
Yet changing.
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT!
Review: A book that really opened my mind to belief and spirituality! I reccomend all serious readers to give it a go!
Rating:
Summary: Book Critique
Review: Seeking the meaning, the place for one's Self or the right time in one's life is a challenging and grueling process, as shown in "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse, a young man named Siddhartha starts out as a Brahmin but seeks to find his own place through change, struggle, lust and finally piece. Siddhartha is a young man, he and his best friend, Govinda, set out to find a higher understanding of themselves. They join a group of Samanas, where they learn a great deal of self-discipline. After years of hardships and a simple life, Siddhartha decides to move away from the life of a Samana, but his friend Govinda wants to stay, so they part. Along his journey, he comes to a garden where a beautiful woman, named Kamala, sits in a chair. He sees the town nearby and offers to work for her if he can stay and learn from her about her ways. After many years of living with these rich, prosperous people Siddhartha grows to be one of them. He gambles and drinks wine and wears perfumes and rich clothing. He has forgotten his goal. After growing older and grayer he turns away from Kamala and finds rest with a ferryman. He offers to help him if, in return, he will be a listener and a friend. They escort people across the river all day long and Siddhartha finds a great love for the river because it always had the answers to his questions. One day his old friend, Govinda, comes along to cross the river and recognizes this old man as Siddhartha. He also realizes that, after all this time, his friend has finally found peace within himself and that gave him peace in return.
The author, Hermann Hesse, uses the third person throughout the book and different techniques to display that someone is talking. For example if Siddhartha were talking it would look like this, Siddhartha said: "...". The author's purpose for writing this book is knowledge of the Self within each individual, and how everyone has to take a different path to find it. It is a story of a young man and it becomes very personal about Siddhartha. Conflict was used to develop the characters and to relate their issues back to the central theme. The five types of conflict are demonstrated in this book. The struggle of man against nature is used when Siddhartha is hungry and there is no food around for him to eat because the trees had no fruit on them. The conflict of man against another man is displayed when Siddhartha wants to leave the life of a Brahmin and become a Samana, but his father disapproves. There is a struggle between Siddhartha and himself and what he wants to do next in approaching his goal. Nature, like the river, gives him inspiration and answers his questions. This gives him peace because he conflicts with the lifestyle of the rich and their heedless society. These five conflicts, in themselves make up the book and the story of Siddhartha's life. Hesse creates each conflict with care so it enhances the theme of the book. These also all related back to the theme and the struggles Siddhartha experienced, all in all these matured the theme making it very deep and dynamic.
Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece of 20th century literature
Review: In this brilliant book, Herman Hesse manages to tell, with an economy and style that is awesome to behold, the spiritual journey of a man who devotes his whole life to looking for Truth. It also combines motifs from Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism to give a scintillating description of Hesse's own spiritual outlook. This is one of the most beautiful and moving works I have ever read, and I cannot do it justice in words alone. Nevertheless, let me urge you to BUY IT!
Rating:
Summary: Self-discovery and wisdom... an ageless book.
Review: As a substitute teacher for a class of sophomores, I needed to spend an evening reading the classic, Siddhartha. Although I had read it years ago in my own tenth grade English class, I found it much more meaningful as an adult. Siddhartha's journey is actually one of any life, anyone who, in his/her life comes to grips with the fact that wisdom cannot be taught. That one's inner peace is brought about from within, not from outside. Siddhartha leaves his father's house (where he has been a beloved son) and takes off with his dear friend, Govinda, to live with the Samanas - in search of the great Gotama (the Buddha). This is only the first step in his life's journey to acquire wisdom (or 'truth'). Along the way he experiences material wealth, carnal love, great impoverishment, and great self-denial (suffering), and even has a child by a lover. None of these events satisfies his yearning however. At the brink of suicide, he settles with a poor old man who ferries people across a river, Vasudeva. It is there that he comes to terms with what wisdom and truth are all about. He listens to the river and to the occasional utterings of Vasudeva (who has seen a great much in this world). It is a truly universal story and one that persons of all ages and religions and backgrounds should read and appreciate for it's clarity about self-discovery.
Rating:
Summary: This was one of the most significant books in my life
Review: Siddhartha was a book about a man who was just that, a man. He wanted to see the great illustrious one, the budda. Once he found that the great budda was just a man too, he set out in life with the wind as his guide. But through his experience and what he learned from others, he became the budda and never really knew it. This book shows us that if we internalize what we have learned and treat all people as equals, we can accomplish our dreams and become the great person that we are all meant to be. C. Jeff Dyrek, the Yellow Airplane guy
Rating:
Summary: I was seeking something else, but found this. What luck!
Review: Going into my Sophomore year in college, I was still trying to "find myself". This book was a tremendous influence in helping me to realize who I truly am and what I stand for. There are some beautiful passages that inspired me to take control of my own life and not give into the pressures found in every day college life. This is a must read for anyone who is unsure of their place in this world or who is looking for a deeper meaning to life
Rating:
Summary: What an audio book
Review: This is one of the best read pieces of work I have ever heard.
Good job Barron!
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