Siddhartha: Amazon.ca: Hermann Hesse: Books

Product Description

From Amazon

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 --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Book Description

A young Indian mystic, a contemporary of Buddha, sacrifices everything to search for the true meaning of life.

Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
In the shade of the house, in the sunshine on the river bank by the boats, in the shade of the sallow wood and the fig tree, Siddhartha, the handsome Brahmin's son, grew up with his friend Govinda. Read the first page

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

28 Reviews

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.5 out of 5 stars (28 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, July 4 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Siddhartha (Paperback)

This is the only book I've ever read which I would call beautiful. It is simply a beautiful book. This may not help you but thats really all I have to say.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

5.0 out of 5 stars Om, Jun 7 2004

By

Christopher Nelson (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Siddhartha (Paperback)

Review #334 (wow!). One of Hesse's most popular and accessible works, Siddhartha is his "Indic Poem" based on the life of a young Brahmin from an Indian village who leaves home to seek fulfillment. The novel is short, and in tone, more akin to Hesse's fairy-tales and "legends" (see, "The Fairy Tales of Hermann Hesse", Jack Zipes, 1995). As such, Siddhartha flows simply and magically, like an epic poem or sonata (for music, find Claude Viver's "Siddartha".)

When I first read this book I was younger, and focused on the departure from home aspect of the novel. The cold break from his father was disturbing and uncomfortable, yet necessary. But necessary for what? Every youth leaves home, but not all knowing (or caring) why. When I came back to this book recently, many years afterwards, I read it on a nearby mountain-top beside a stream in a sunny little grove, and found it incredibly fluid; almost perfect in structure and theme. Hesse's message is that one's own personal journey is more important than simply following another's learned doctrines, no matter how much you agree with them. Siddhartha comes to this conclusion after years and years of wandering in the forrests as an ascetic Samana ("Too much knowledge had hindered him...") and he understands that while knowledge and information may be taught and learned, wisdom must be gained through self-exploration. Of course it's useful and important to read, and learn from others, but unlike his friend Govinda, Siddhartha breaks from the Buddha's teachings not because he disagrees with him, but because he "understands him" (in fact, he is him - or, another "him").

His journey includes a life of the senses "amongst the people" with the lovely courtesan Kamala, and a business career with the merchant Kamaswami. Siddhartha (aka: the Buddha), must lose himself before finding himself again. Eventually, he finds himself by the river which he had crossed in the first part of the novel, and which is the central, binding motif of the story. Here, with the old ferryman Vasudeva, and after a last, tragic encounter with Kamala (and a son he never knew he had) he eventually learns to synthesize intellect with sense (parts I & II of the novel), and not to despise the cyclic world of illusions (i.e. Maya & Samsara), but rather to embrace it, and to accept it - and love it. The novel ends with the gesture of a kiss, and a beatific smile.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book That Has Changed My Life, Feb 11 2002

By

"nathalie25" (OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Siddhartha (Hardcover)

I had to read this book for a high school English class, and the title itself had intrigued me. I started reading the book right away, and it drew me in with its vivid imagery. The book was poetry in its purest form; the manner in which the words flow and complement each other present the ideas and themes of the book in such a way that it is art. THis novel has made me truly think about life and spirituality. As Siddhartha was awakened, as was I. I recommend this novel to anyone with an open mind and heart.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 28 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Want to see more reviews on this item?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 69 reviews 4.6 out of 5 stars

Most recent customer reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Not easy to follow, a little SLOW
I didnt think this book was as great as people have said, but if your in to buddha and spiritual books you'll like this one. Read more

Published on Dec 22 2004

1.0 out of 5 stars Not an easy read.
I picked this book up one weekend last summer, thinking I'd have it read by the following Monday. It looked like a thought provoking book under 150 pages and with a low cost... Read more

Published on Jun 1 2004 by Simon Mall