Siddhartha is a novel written by Hermann Hesse, who was a
Poet/Novelist in the late 1800s to the mid-1900s. Some of his other works are “The
Glass Bead Game” and “Steppenwolf”. Siddhartha is unique in the fact that it is
a very short book (Around 140 pages), but it is very dense, meaning it says a
lot with so little words. Siddhartha is a book based around the self-discovery
and Buddhist ideals and goals, such as discovering Nirvana. It is about
discovering yourself and what you need in life.
The protagonist’s name is Siddhartha, he is the son of a
Brahmin (A kind of teacher/priest), he grew up in ancient India. He decides to
leave his home and search for spiritual enlightenment and total mental peace.
He meets numerous other travelers and other people searching for Nirvana, he
even finds and converses with a Buddha (Someone who has discovered Nirvana).
It’s all about finding out what you want to be and what you need to do to achieve
it. He goes around India as a beggar, sleeping the woods or wherever he can,
eating whatever he is given, and talking to people that could help advance his
journey. Siddhartha believes that peace cannot be taught, but has to be
discovered and you have to earn it. He starts his journey with his best friend
Govinda, they join a Buddhist group of travelers who help them along their way
to spiritual enlightenment.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is stuck in life,
this book will change your life and how you see the world after you read it. If
you feel helpless or unsure of yourself, if you feel like you’re going nowhere,
if you feel like your world is crashing down, Siddhartha is the book that could
help you figure out what you can and will do. Despite being so short this book
is extremely powerful and is really only enjoyable if you have a higher than
average reading level, because it can be hard to keep track of the plot and
what is going on. This book is the only book I’ve ever read that has permanently
changed the way I view the world and people in it. It is a very quick read too,
but read it slowly to get the full effect. It is very underrated so give it a
try!
Book Review by Escher S.
I think that this book would be a good read. I like books that are really opening and make you see things in a whole new way. It sounds interesting how he journeys through India with practically nothing; Sleeping in woods and eating so little. I t sounds different from anything I have read so I am willing to give it a try. My only concern is if there will be too much about religion that causes me to lose interest and if the plot will be too hard to follow.
ReplyDeleteI think this book sounds very interesting. I think I would like to read this book because I love to learn about different cultures: With this book about how he travels across India with nothing except his faith sounds like its just for me. Also I think another reason why I am interested is because this book sounds like it has amazing set of morals to teach the reader. This book summary reminds me of a Bollywood movie I saw on Netflix where a young girl left everything she had to find who she was; she left her family and friends just to find herself.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a great book and I'd enjoy reading it. It sounds like something I've never read before but wanted to. I like the way it sounds because during life, you're stuck on a road that never ends to find out who you truly are. You go on a long journey through life just like this guy finding peace. You set goals for yourself and you do anything to reach them if you really wanted it. I am not Buddhist but I think I'd also enjoy this book because its something new and an adventure. One time I read a book about how someone was talking about god and how god could truly let something horrible happen to many people at once. They couldn't believe that it was targeted at them and had to survive with anything they could find. Life is a battle and you never know what's coming. I'd really like to read this book and see what opinions I have on it.
ReplyDeleteI'd think I would be interested in reading this book. I like seeing the world through other's eyes and this book sounds like one those experiences for me. That's why I like watching documentaries on people around the world to see their beliefs, culture, etc. My main concern with this book is that I might not be able to comprehend the book because of it's complexity and density as previously stated.
ReplyDeleteI would be very interested in reading this book. This book sounds enlightening on how someone should go about finding themselves. Too many people live their life brainwashed and without their own thoughts. They are "dead" inside and i think that this book could help people understand how to deal with that. I'd love to read this book because I myself would like to try and find myself. This would be a good short read because I often get lost in too large of books because i want more story.
ReplyDeleteI would definitely read this book. What interest me the most is that you go in a journey to find your inner peace, to know who you really are and knowing that it's something you have to earn its not giving to you. Life is a journey and that's something you can't replace; life has thousands of
ReplyDeleteadventures to know who you truly are and you just have to break through fight through it. This book teaches you about life and if your feeling stuck or you just don't know who you are anymore this book will be perfect. Reminds me of a movie I watched and she was just a girl who faked her personality, her looks she didn't know who she was. She just wanted to be what everyone else wanted her to be. Until one day she took an adventure; she found her inner peace; she found out who she truly was and her whole life completely changed.