Hermann Hesse

Siddartha

Evan

What is meditation? What is abandonment of the body? What is fasting? What is the holding of breath? It is a flight from the Self, it is a temporary escape from the torment of Self.

I'm giving this 2/5 and I think that's an improvement for "Siddhartha".

I read this in high school and hated it back then: all I remembered for my reread was that Siddhartha seeks enlightenment and that there's a river. I was effectively reading this for the first time all these years later.

He does indeed seek enlightenment, but the character of Siddhartha is pretty insufferable, even at the end after much "growth". He's wildly arrogant for a large portion of the story and some of the "lessons" he formulates in his mind are practically nonsense, especially the ones regarding love.

I suppose you can say the biggest lesson I can take away from this (and recommend to others) is trying your best to absorb everything you can around you and knowing that this includes learning from things you fail at, as there will be times you do. It's not the most complex lesson and thankfully "Siddhartha" conveys this in a short read.

Something I found interesting is Siddhartha says repeatedly during one section of the book that he "has nothing". He claims he can "think, wait, and fast" and that these are his only skills. Immediately after, he tells a rich man he can read and write and is hired as his apprentice and over the years this leads to many riches. Siddhartha never reflects on this, he later views his wealth as a bad thing that ate away at him, but he pretends to have gotten there on his own luck or some kind of will of the world; he never admits his fortune of being born into a wealthy family that taught him the skills others do not have and where this privilege got him.

90% of this story is Siddhartha reflecting on things, often to the reader's detriment as he frequently repeats himself, so I'm surprised he never mentions this.

I also did like the portion where he talks about the links between father and son and patterns we're seemingly doomed to repeat. It's worth thinking about for sure.

Anyways, supposedly this is an important book, and I just don't see it. I think "The Alchemist" is a comparable story that is a much friendlier read: it's more optimistic and interesting while also remaining brief.

I'm giving this 2/5 and I think that's an improvement for "Siddhartha".

  

I read this in high school and hated it back then: all I remembered for my reread was that Siddhartha seeks enlightenment and that there's a river. I was effectively reading this for the first time all these years later.

  

He does indeed seek enlightenment, but the character of Siddhartha is pretty insufferable, even at the end after much "growth". He's wildly arrogant for a large portion of the story and some of the "lessons" he formulates in his mind are practically nonsense, especially the ones regarding love.

I suppose you can say the biggest lesson I can take away from this (and recommend to others) is trying your best to absorb everything you can around you and knowing that this includes learning from things you fail at, as there will be times you do. It's not the most complex lesson and thankfully "Siddhartha" conveys this in a short read.

  

Something I found interesting is Siddhartha says repeatedly during one section of the book that he "has nothing". He claims he can "think, wait, and fast" and that these are his only skills. Immediately after, he tells a rich man he can read and write and is hired as his apprentice and over the years this leads to many riches. Siddhartha never reflects on this, he later views his wealth as a bad thing that ate away at him, but he pretends to have gotten there on his own luck or some kind of will of the world; he never admits his fortune of being born into a wealthy family that taught him the skills others do not have and where this privilege got him.

90% of this story is Siddhartha reflecting on things, often to the reader's detriment as he frequently repeats himself, so I'm surprised he never mentions this.

I also did like the portion where he talks about the links between father and son and patterns we're seemingly doomed to repeat. It's worth thinking about for sure.

  

Anyways, supposedly this is an important book, and I just don't see it. I think "The Alchemist" is a comparable story that is a much friendlier read: it's more optimistic and interesting while also remaining brief.

  

I do not recommend "Siddhartha".

Siddartha

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