Siddhartha |
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Author:
Hermann Hesse
By Picador
Average Customer Rating: 
List Price: £7.99
Our Price: £12.99
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780330354851
ISBN: 033035485X
Label: Picador
Manufacturer: Picador
Number Of Pages: 224
Publication Date: 1998-03-06
Publisher: Picador
Studio: Picador |
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Amazon.co.uk Review
In the shade of a banyan tree, a grizzled ferryman sits listening to the river. Some say he's a sage. He was once a wandering shramana and, briefly, like thousands of others, he followed Gautama the Buddha, enraptured by his sermons. But this man, Siddhartha, was not a follower of any but his own soul. Born the son of a Brahman, Siddhartha was blessed in appearance, intelligence, and charisma. In order to find meaning in life, he discarded his promising future for the life of a wandering ascetic. Still, true happiness evaded him. Then a life of pleasure and titillation merely eroded away his spiritual gains until he was just like all the other "child people," dragged around by his desires. Like Hesse's other creations of struggling young men, Siddhartha has a good dose of European angst and stubborn individualism. His final epiphany challenges both the Buddhist and the Hindu ideals of enlightenment. Neither a practitioner nor a devotee, neither meditating nor reciting, Siddhartha comes to blend in with the world, resonating with the rhythms of nature, bending the reader's ear down to hear answers from the river. --Brian Bruya
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Siddhartha, 2010-02-16
`Siddhartha' is one of those books that is both simple to read and yet powerful and profound at the same time. Following a young Brahmin's son as he tries to find his spiritual path in life, this book manages to weave a tale that is both captivating and enlightening. This book is so good I could read the first 30 pages alone and put the book down a happy man, the remainder is purely icing on the cake! Hesse manages to write in a deceptively simple style that belies the depth to the message he shows us and the skill behind his writing. He won the nobel prize for good reason. This may be a short book, but it is one that will stay with you long after you have read it and will bring you back to rediscover it's delights at regular intervals. Beautiful prose, beautiful message and highly recommended indeed.
Hesse , 2009-03-15
There are several translations of this beautiful and powerful book but this one is the best and I recommend it thoroughly to all Hesse fans and to any new reader yet to taste the delights from this incredible writer. The story is a simple one but the message and depth of meaning are profound and lasting. Read it again and again as you grow up and grow older and maybe even as you grow wiser!
Siddhartha, 2009-04-09
`Siddhartha' is one of those books that is both simple to read and yet powerful and profound at the same time. Following a young Brahmin's son as he tries to find his spiritual path in life, this book manages to weave a tale that is both captivating and enlightening. This book is so good I could read the first 30 pages alone and put the book down a happy man, the remainder is purely icing on the cake! Hesse manages to write in a deceptively simple style that belies the depth to the message he shows us and the skill behind his writing. He won the nobel prize for good reason. This may be a short book, but it is one that will stay with you long after you have read it and will bring you back to rediscover it's delights at regular intervals. Beautiful prose, beautiful message and highly recommended indeed.
Fantastic, 2009-12-26
I received this as gift from my father, and I have to say that Coelho's introduction is absolutely correct - this book will change your life. It may appear a bit too new-age, but the simplicity and elegance of Hesse's writing prevents this from becoming overly preachy. Instead, it is a simple and moving tale of one man's search for enlightenment and happiness. My favorite element of this book would have to be that Siddartha himself is intrinsically flawed and makes some questionable decisions, and so I found myself easily relating to him and his story. An impressively relevant retelling of a classic tale, suitable for teenagers and adults alike.
 for Paulo Coehlo fans, 2010-01-23
I am glad I read this. It was very interesting, but though it is short I could probably have read half of it and got just as much out of it. I bought a set of Paulo Coehlo books once and finished the first with a certainty that I would never pick up another. I felt the same about this and for the same reasons which I would struggle to articulate, but I can see exactly why Coehlo was chosen, or chose to write an introduction to it. My guess is that if you like Coehlo you will like this, if you don't, you won't. I don't think this sort of writing can get to the bottom of the meaning of existence in spiritual terms. I can't say I have read a lot else that it could be compared to, but to me it makes language look like a blunt instrument and the task like that of trying to sculpt jelly with one!
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