Siddhartha

Rating:
Summary: A mind-blow job
Review: I could not put this book down. I read it from cover to cover and when I was finished, I felt like I had reached the state of Nirvana. I felt that I was in peace with the whole world. Each receptor in my brain passed this peace to the next synaptic nerve and my brain was numbed with wisdom. After reading the book, I felt like I was allowed into the realm of the holy. I thought to myself, "Since I know the secret of attaining peace for myself, what else is there? What more can knowledge and books give to me when I have gained wisdom?." In fact, for the rest of the day, I did nothing, completely absorbing the feeling of euphoria that the book had bestowed on me.

The book was a quick read and the style was simple and direct. There was nothing superflous in this book. I felt that I was Siddhartha and this book recounted my spiritual journey. After reading this book, I felt like I never had to read another thing in my life, that all my questions were answered and that I would soon walk the ladder to heaven. I felt that someone had told a secret to me and that I was forever calmed because of it.

I also liked that the book touched on the philosophies of Nietzche. Many of the ideas of Thus Spoke Zarathrustra, such as eternal recurrence, are given. Siddhartha was one way to better understand Nietzche, and therefore is an ideal book for philosophy students to use as an accompaniment while reading Nietzche.

The book is for the philospher and non-philosopher alike-basically it is for anyone who wishes to discover the innerpeace harbored within themselves. It is for those who cannot follow the teachings of another and and are driven to find the meaning of life for themselves.

I cannot recommend this book enough.

Rating:
Summary: Annoying....False to its entirety...
Review: When I was first assigned to read this book, I was really excited in learning about Siddhartha and in enhancing my knowledge of Buddhism. However, in the course of my reading, I found the novel fallacious. It blemishes the true life story Siddhartha Gautama and the Buddhist ideology. The selfishness of Siddhartha is displayed in his search for knowledge and in his dealings with everyone around him. This selfishness, which was never possessed by the real Siddhartha, annoys me exceedingly. Instead of pondering and reflecting in his mind, Siddhartha always seems to be whining. He whines about how to control his Self, about not being able to learn anything, about his regret for his sudden corruption.... Then, he makes excuses for himself. All of a sudden, he believes that his corruption makes his mind clearer. I know that a lot of people think that his quest for knowledge and Nirvana is enlightening, but I would like to say that these people do not truly understand Buddhism and everything that it stands for. A Buddhist does not seek for knowledge in the selfish way that Siddhartha does in the novel. He wishes to understand the sufferings of life and solve life's puzzle in order to help others and himself achieve Nirvana...

Rating:
Summary: Superb. Must read.
Review: This book goes through the whole cycle (circle) of life so beautifully, you wonder how hesse's mind worked to get there. Just to clarify, its not about Buddhism or enlightenment or religion per-se. But, these concepts are merely used to highlight something much more important. I wouldnt want to give details and spoil it for you. Read it. At worst, it will have a humbling effect. At best, it will make you think.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, poignant, uplifting: a great novel
Review: This beautiful and poetic novel about the life of the Buddha is not about the life of the Buddha, per se, or so Herman Hesse (it's a German name: the final "e' is pronounced like a soft English "a') would have us believe. "Siddhartha," meaning "the accomplished one" is one of the traditional names of the Buddha, but in this novel Siddhartha (from the Sanskrit so that the "h's" are silent) encounters the Buddha in his travels and gains by what he learns from the Enlightened One. Yet the life so wondrously depicted here is closely patterned after the traditional life of the Buddha, and where it is not, it is highly plausible. I think Hesse started out to write a life of the Buddha but at some point realized that his sometimes spiritual, sometimes profane depiction might offend some Buddhists, and so he had Gotama, the Perfect One himself, appear as a separate character while keeping the life and the traditional name for his hero.

At any rate, this is one of the great novels of the twentieth century, or any century for that matter. It begins with Siddhartha's royal birth in India in the Sixth Century BCE into a Brahmin's life of privilege and wealth, continues through Siddhartha's traditional discovery of poverty, death, disease and pain as he wanders outside the royal estates, and his consequent desire to conquer or somehow come to terms with what he sees, things he had been sheltered from since birth. Thus we have the fundamental tenant of Buddhism: Life is suffering. The scene where the young Siddhartha confronts his father and stands up all night to show his resolve is one of the greatest "coming of age" scenes ever written.

And that is what really makes this novel: the character of Siddhartha himself. Hesse has created a seeker who is a real life hero: kind, brave, strong of will and decisive, intelligent, modest, confident, honest, hardworking, unprejudiced, self-questioning and sometimes self-doubting, somebody we can identify with and admire. He goes through the temptations and the travails of life, sometimes weakening and sometimes distracted, finally finding salvation only after he has tried not only asceticism, but indulgence, not just renunciation, but a Tantric-like embracing of all things social and profane. In a sense this is a generalized life of the true seeker after spiritual enlightenment, a life that pleases not just Buddhists, but Christians and Hindus and those from other faiths as well because it is a portrait of humanity at our finest and our truest, out of the entangled bank and toward the stars.

The deceptive simplicity of the story makes it accessible to readers of all ages and walks of life, and greatly rewards a second and a third reading. In the United States it is often part of a superior high school curriculum. It is inspirational not only for the spiritually inclined, but for young people of all ages, and in writing it, Hesse did a service for humanity greater than a thousand sermons.

I should add that the English translation of the German by Hilda Rosner is itself a work of art, graceful, balanced, every word so natural that one is unaware that the work was written in another language.

The story ends with Siddhartha finding the peace that passeth all understanding, learned from a simple ferry boatman as he listens to the timeless voice of the river as it flows, expressing all that is or has been or will be.

This novel is a treasure.

Rating:
Summary: Enchanting
Review: I have just finished reading Siddhartha for the second time in my life. First time was about 10 years ago. I didn't expect this book to have such a powerful effect on me this time around. The book is short and simple, but very profoundly and poetically written. Siddhartha's search, struggle, suffering and finally peace, become the reader's. The book's content spoke to me directly, and will probably do the same for anyone searching for meaning beyond the observable, the material, the emphemeral. It is a treat for the soul.

Rating:
Summary: Oh well.
Review: This is the worst book I have ever read. And I read a lot. I found it boring, wrong on every level, disgusting and generally not worth the paper it is printed on. Sorry!

Rating:
Summary: Good, but by no means Hesse's best
Review: This is Hesse's spiritual book about Siddhartha and the quest to find one's true Self. It pales in comparison to Steppenwolf and Demian, but it is still a very worthwhile read with a vast amount of depth of thought invested into the short book. Resembles Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra in some respects.

Rating:
Summary: Nice but not true
Review: This is an excellent story but I would like to bring it to the readers attention that this is NOT the true story of siddartha gotama's life after he leaves the ascetics.

Rating:
Summary: Smells Like Teen Incense
Review: Don't read this or any other review before you read this book!But if you must... It is certainly Hesse's easiest book tomaster and, despite it's apparent simplicity, one of the deepest. .... ...the book is merely about every man's humanity starting with Siddhartha's fall from a proud arrogant youth, perfect in his piety, through the materialism of his adulthood, ending in his final, simple understanding of himself and his relationship to the world around him. This is a book about self-realization, Siddhartha's and yours. Which is why I recommended you not reading this or any other review. Open the book, read the book, be the book (gag), and come to your own interpretation.

Rating:
Summary: A quest to find the true calling in life
Review: "Siddhartha" is the story of a reluctant young messiah, searching for his true place in life. Looking for his true calling Siddhartha goes through many different trials and tribulations, he doesn't believe in dedicating his life to one teacher and belief, so he travels far and wide learning from the many different people he meets. At one point in the book Siddhartha becomes rich and powerful, but he is very disturbed by what he has become because of money and greed. Siddhartha leaves his wealth and meets a man who operates a ferry across the river. In the end, Siddhartha's place is at the river, because so many people pass through and teach him new things and he returns the favor. Siddhartha also learns from the river, because the river speaks to him and he learns how to listen.

Hesse uses characterization to develop the theme that every human being has something to offer or to teach, we should take advantage of this opportunity, and if we do we will eventually find our place in life. Throughout the book Hesse introduces new characters, all of whom have some sort of knowledge to offer Siddhartha. Each character is created to teach Siddhartha something valuable.