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Summary: It's not all about India...
Review: Infact it's been written by a German. It doesn't get you into eastern spirituality: it's a man's life tale. More common than it might seem.
If feel like becoming a buddhist after reading this, then take a peak at R.Bach's "Johnathan Livingston" novel, or Paulo Cohelo's "The Alchemist". You'll find a common pattern.
And maybe read something about Hermann Hesse, the period he lived, the theosophy and the overwhelming romantic quest for the sublime.
And have a good life.
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Summary: all is perpetual beauty unfolding
Review: hesse's anti-platonic tale of siddhartha--a contemporary dharma bum of gotama the buddha--is poignant and concise. like myriad thinkers influenced by nietzsche, hesse advocates a return to nature: a re-spiritualization of being. siddhartha seeks truth only through himself. seeking to evince the root of his own existence, he refuses to follow anyone. in the end, he discovers the primary fact of life is flux, and at the core of everything is change. hesse's poetic language is beautiful even in translation, but if you desire a truly hallucinatory vision of subjective reality--of racing thoughts and interpenetrating minds--read anything by virginia woolf. her stream-of-consciousness method captures and expresses the essence of being.
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Summary: The essential introduction to Eastern thought
Review: I cannot say enough good things about _Siddhartha_. It is the most potent and miserly introduction to Eastern thought I have read. With all the vague and mysterious books on Eastern philosophy out there, this book stands alone as the quickest and most efficient way to enlightenment. If you are curious about Zen Buddhism and Hinduism, this is the best place to start your journey towards enlightenment. If you are already a Zen guru, this could also be the last book you ever read and you would still get just as much out of it. It is for both beginner and expert alike. I especially like the almost biblical flavor to this book. Herman Hesse is a legitimate myth-maker, and _Siddhartha_ reads like a parable of wisdom from some ancient, archaic religious text. That is what makes this book so special. It also almost singlehandedly triggered a worldwide revival in studying and writing about the wisdom of the East.
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Summary: Everybody needs to read this book
Review: Beauty, struggle, peace, humility...This is an excellent book to go back to again and again, an experience that will transform you in the most wonderful ways each time you go through it.
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Summary: A compelling read.
Review: For this review,I do not want to tell about the book,but just place a quote here-from the book-that summed up the whole book for myself. "When someone is seeking,it happens quite easily that he only sees the thing that he is seeking;that he is unable to find anything,unable to absorb anything,because he is only thinking of the thing he is seeking because he has a goal,because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means:to have a goal; but finding means:to be free,to be receptive,to have no goal." That quote sums up for myself what we all strive for. Nirvana.
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Summary: the best book for even a non-reader
Review: This book Siddhartha is a great book even if you don't like to read. I not much of a reader and when i read this book I recommended it to all readers. The book is about a man that search for knowledge and wanted to learn about life. As he travled he didn't really know what he wanted. but soon found out what life was really about. I loved this book because it just relates so good to tring to find a way in life.
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Summary: Brilliant portrayal of eternal quest
Review: This is a great book portraying the search of a young Indian's search to find man's role on the earth. Siddhartha, a young Indian from a pious and spiritual family gets his initial training in Vedic culture and meditation. His interest to find the ultimate goal of man on the earth makes him a seeker of truth. He soon finds that the Vedic ceremonies and meditation practices he is following is taking him or any of the followers to any heights. He prefers to become a Samana to find the truth. Govinda, his friend and companion all the time also follows him and both becomes Samanas to wander in the forest in the path of self denial teaching their bodies to grow indifferent to pleasures and pains. Siddhartha finds that this path is also not guiding him towards ultimate goal. During this phase both Siddhartha and Govinda hears about Gotma Buddha, the illustrious one who found his way to the ultimate goal. The journey of Samanas takes them to Jatavana where Gotama, the illustrious one together with his disciples stays. On hearing the discourse of Gotma, the illustrious one, Siddhartha feels that the path to ultimate goal is not even here. He questions Gotma, the illustrious one's teachings. Siddhartha feels that no one can teach the path to the ultimate goal because everyone has to find his own way. He still continues his quest and tries his way in the worldly affairs. He finds kamala and become a rich merchant. He gets a son. Even this life could not satisfy Siddhartha's quest. He continuous his journey and finally finds his path at the river where he hear the voice of the river. He settles down there to start a new life of peace and finally he understands that love is the most important thing in the world.
The journey of Siddhartha seeking the truth was brilliantly portrayed by Hermann Hesse who himself suffered religious crisis during his earlier days. The explanation of Siddhartha as a son of Brahman gives us the account of the seeker. The changes in his life seeking the truth had been characterized by discussions with Govinda as a Son of Brahman in the beginning and as a Samana later, his discussion with Gotama, the illustrious one and then his dream at the river where, his return to the river and last discussion with Govinda portrays the journey of Siddhartha brilliantly.
I read this book long back and wanted to revisit it during the new year. I found this book still in the best seller's rack in a book store in Hyderabad, India and felt that it should be in the bestsellers rack across the world for the years to come. A must read for all those who wish to tread the path of thinking and seeking the truth.
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Summary: INSPIRATIONAL
Review: It was a great help on my way to knowledge.
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Summary: What a book.
Review: I very much enjoyed the read, what a gem. Hesse's prose is remarkably elegant, simple, and unencumbered by the fairly weighty subject matter. It's an appreciable work on a variety of levels, the best of which is not its Buddhist instruction, but the spot-on accuracy of the portrayal of a young man in spiritual doubt. The best a reader could hope for is exactly that: a newfound hope that salvation is possible. At worst, one can at least commiserate with Siddhartha, and Hesse. Truthful, unpretentious, amazing. Read it right away.
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Summary: Which Siddhartha?
Review: Gotama Buddha's original name was Siddhartha, so it would have been better to use some other name for this book and for the Samana who followed his own soul. One very valuable learning from this book is that no teaching can substitute the process of 'learning'.
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