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Title: Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, Derek George Jacobi ISBN: 0-88690-095-6 Publisher: Pub Group West Audio Pub. Date: May, 1988 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 2 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.4 (321 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Simply a wonderful book
Comment: One of the truly wonderful books I have read and read and read again. I keep waiting as I age to finally become so cynical that I don't appreciate it, but it doesn't happen. I have also taught the book at the community college level with an outstanding response. One interesting note that has been pointed out to me is the book loosely follows the narrative of the Book of Ecclesiastes from the Old Testament. Like the speaker in that work, Siddhartha experiments with the broad aspects of life: intellectualism, pleasures of the flesh, acquisitiveness, and so forth. And like the speaker in the Bible he finds them all a bit wanting.
Ignore the reviewers who are picking the book apart on religious grounds, and so forth -- it's not intended to be educational in that sense. As for those who say the lessons of the book are ones that we all know -- well, I say that it's the reponsibility of great writing to PRESENT those ideas with the kinds of images that help us feel what the writer is saying. As Sid. says -- whenever you put life's wisdom into words it sounds silly and cliched. Hesse successfully puts the ideas into wonderful images.
Rating: 3
Summary: Restless Recollections
Comment: There exists a space in which we find ourselves in deep contemplation over life and our destiny. It is at those moments when a book like Siddhartha can be meaningful without being invasive. The journey of a Brahmin's son and his childhood friend asks more questions than it answers.
What is the meaning to our existence and how do we find true joy? Siddhartha is outwardly content, yet in his heart there is no joy. This is not a matter of simply struggling over a current confusion, this is an internal struggle which seeks to destroy his very being, eating at his very life energy, consuming his waking hours. He is a seeker, insatiable, desiring his own sense of Nirvana.
At first he seeks to become a Samana and deny himself all worldly possessions and pleasures. "Siddhartha had one single goal-to become empty, to become empty of thirst, desire, dreams, pleasure and sorrow-to let the Self die."
After living a life in which he denies himself all pleasure, he longs for a life filled with pleasure and is satiated to the point of feeling sickened by lust and greed. Finally he finds his way to a river. The most beautiful section of this book is when Siddhartha listens to what the river is telling him.
"Have you learned from that secret from the river, that there is no such thing as time?"
"Yes...That the river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the current, in the ocean and in the mountains, everywhere, and that the present only exists for it, not the shadow of the past, nor the shadow of the future."
Siddhartha almost gives his life to the water in his despair. However, the river becomes a source of inner reflection for him when he realizes his awakening is his path to wisdom. Even as I finished the story I wondered if Siddhartha had found the inner peace, or if he had just made a pact with his soul not to contemplate the mystery of the universe any further.
Even in the most difficult situations when God feels far away, He might just be letting us awaken to our own inner world. Waiting, loving us, waiting. Perhaps waiting for us to make the right decisions in life, to find our destiny. To find Him.
If you enjoy Siddhartha, you will love Of Marriageable Age by Sharon Maas. She mentions this book in her novel.
Rating: 4
Summary: Quick and easy as you want it to be
Comment: Siddhartha is a pretty light story on the surface- 140 or so pages of very descriptive prose. But I imagine that it could be dissected and analyzed in a far greater depth than most would.
Its a feel good story that covers a lot of the thoughts most of us have had about why we are really here and what we should be looking to achieve. There is no golden answer at the end, just like in life. But it succeeds in making you re-address issues you may not have thought about in a while- and does so with a really charming storyline.
Hesse's writing style is very descriptive- he is especially excellent at detailing physical environments and bringing out the beauty of landscapes. I haven't seen the movie, but I can understand why most Amazon reviewers have trashed it. Hesse does such a good job of presenting Siddhartha's world in this short book that any external interpretation might be seen as blasphemy.
You should get this book. Its cheap, short and likely to be something you'll re-read every few years. And you leave it with a smile on your face :)
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Title: The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream by Paulo Coelho ISBN: 0062502182 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 10 May, 1995 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: The Magus by John Fowles ISBN: 0440351626 Publisher: Dell Publishing Pub. Date: 01 April, 1985 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Dirt Music : A Novel by Tim Winton ISBN: 0743228480 Publisher: Scribner Pub. Date: 13 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Steppenwolf: A Novel by Hermann Hesse, Basil Creighton ISBN: 0312278675 Publisher: Picador USA Pub. Date: 01 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression by Studs Terkel ISBN: 1565846567 Publisher: New Press Pub. Date: November, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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