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Jul 05, 2011

Stephen rated it:

My apologies if this review reeks of "GUSHness." However, it gave me that ONE-OF-A-KIND reading experience that doesn't come along often and so I think it is certainly worthy of the praise I shall heep upon it. Beautifully written and a deeply personal story, Hesse has created the ultimate expression of the journey of self-discovery.

The book details the story of Siddhartha, the young and brilliant son of a Brahmin in ancient India. The Brahmin are the uber reve More...

20 comments like (58 people liked it)

Dec 22, 2010

Kemper rated it:

So there’s a damn dirty hippie in India named Siddhartha who is supposed to be seeking spiritual enlightenment, but instead of going to a good Christian church like a normal person, he wanders around the woods for a while with some other damn dirty hippies. After he meets Buddha, he finally gets tired of being broke-ass and homeless, and he goes into town where he makes a pile of money. This is good because everyone knows that engaging in capitalism is the only proper way to go through life. As More...

14 comments like (101 people liked it)

Nov 02, 2007

John rated it:

I taught this book to juniors, and when I did I became frustrated with a student when I introduced it, because he let his classmates know that he'd already read it and it sucked. I'm happy to report, now that we've finished it, that his comments didn't seem to hurt the class's opinion of the book too badly. In fact, that student himself said it was pretty good and that he'd only skimmed it the last time he read it. Lousy kids.... Another student said it was his favorite book that we'd read so fa More...

3 comments like (43 people liked it)

Dec 01, 2008

Michelle rated it:

Whatever. Blah blah blah Samana. Blah blah blah Kamala. Blah blah blah Samsara. Blah blah blah River. Blah blah blah Om.

35 comments like (56 people liked it)

Aug 12, 2010

Matthieu rated it:

Eh.

8 comments like (13 people liked it)

May 20, 2008

HappyHippo rated it:

Ehm.. "terintimidasi" dan "terprovokasi" oleh seorang Amang yang telah menyelesaikan buku ini (sori, sempet dilibas dulu ama Harry Potter 7, hehe). Awalnya hanya "mark as to read" saja karena sempat melihat bukunya di toko dan berharap mungkin suatu saat akan membacanya. Akan tetapi seorang Amang juga pada hari yang sama melakukan "mark as to read" pada buku ini, akhirnya berunding, tawar menawar (emangnya dagang) dan sepakat untuk membacanya bersama (bali More...

54 comments like (8 people liked it)

Dec 01, 2008

Sheila rated it:

When I edited my high school newspaper, we produced a popular feature called “Phot-O-pinion” where we asked a question about a (sometimes) pressing topic, quoted the student or teacher and snapped their pic. For one issue, at the suggestion of my journalism teacher Mrs. Kelley, I asked teachers to name a book that changed their lives. I can’t remember all the responses, but without hesitation, one teacher told me, “Siddhartha, because it showed me a completely different perspective on life.”
More...

1 comment like (25 people liked it)

Feb 08, 2011

Dan rated it:

Siddhartha rejects his life as a Brahman's son and goes out into the world in a quest for enlightenment, to live as an ascetic. After meeting Buddha, Siddhartha rejects the ascetic life for a more material one, the life of a merchant, learning the ways of love from a courtesan, and in time leaves that life behind as well. Will Siddhartha ever find what he is looking for?

Normally, a Nobel prize winning book wouldn't get a second look from me. I'm more into people getting pistol whi More...

3 comments like (19 people liked it)

Mar 11, 2008

Jana rated it:

Frank and I were having a conversation the other night in which we were discussing one of our usual topics: religion / spirituality... though I guess the other favorites (art, film, food, books, money woes, professional woes, traffic rants, geography, bad weather, family woes, music, soccer, our friends and our beloved cats) were probably discussed as well... But we were both expressing our mistrust of inexperience, and how we'd never want to take "wisdom" from someone who hadn't live More...

4 comments like (11 people liked it)

Nov 22, 2011

Mohammed rated it:

I knew nothing about this author and the book when i read this. It was refreshing i could let his words decide how i picture him, his works.

It was a novel that worked on many levels for me, storytelling technique wise it was simple but very effective. Prose wise it was written like it was beautiful old colorful poetry, it sang to me. I was moved by the insightful ideas,thoughts in the novel. I cant believe how powerful, important things he said with only 123 pages. Its easily the More...

8 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 31, 2011

Tanu rated it:

When I picked up Siddhartha, I was expecting something totally different. Buddha’s life being not on the list of things I am completely unaware of (the list including sports, politics, business, computer etc), I expected to hear stories which my grandmother told me since I was a toddler. Since Siddhartha is the former name of Gautama Buddha, I thought this was his biography. Hence, I was greatly surprised and confused, especially in parts about Kamala. I know, it makes sense that my grandmoth More...

3 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 16, 2008

Lauren rated it:

Siddhartha’s choices lead him on a journey into the inner psyche. Siddhartha is open to any experiences that will give him added insight into himself. His approach to achieving enlightenment varies from one extreme to another, from total self-deprivation to complete submission of will to carnal desires. While his approach to attaining enlightenment varies throughout the different stages of his life, one thing remains constant: Siddhartha’s determination to attain self-actualization. Siddhart More...

1 comment like (11 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Andrew rated it:

"Siddartha," as I recall it, was a difficult book to get through. In ninth grade, everything is difficult to get through. It's like walking around in a world where the air is made of jello. So much effort, and not enough grapes and peaches and other fruit cocktail misfits floating around to sustain you.

Hesse seeks to convince you that this is essentially the nature of life, and he does it pretty well. The book is fundamentally boring and slow, just like life, and it seems More...

1 comment like (7 people liked it)

Oct 03, 2008

MeaganS rated it:

I think I had to read this in high school and was bored by it, but I gave it another shot, and I really liked it a lot more this time. I think I "get it" more now, 15 years after I read it the first time.

I am drawn to one of the central themes - that everyone's path to enlightenment is different. I am a Christian and that is my chosen path to bring me closer to God and salvation, but I have great respect for other religions, and I can't bring myself to believe that they ar More...

2 comments like (11 people liked it)

May 19, 2008

Amang rated it:

"Membaca Buddha" bagian 1:

Latar belakang:
Saya, Erie dan Roos sedang sama-sama membaca Buddha dalam rangka menyambut Waisak (taela)... Ini adalah rangkaian sebuah pembacaan kolektif dan massif yang melibatkan beragam sumber mulai dari Siddhartha Hermann Hesse yang ditulis pada tahun '20-an hingga Buddha-nya Deepak Chopra yang ditulis pada tahun 2007, mulai dari yang serius ala Mencari Jejak sampai graphic novel Ozamu Tezuka. Tujuannya adalah pemahaman holistik yang leb More...

27 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 08, 2011

Jeremy added it

I'm kind of embarrassed to admit it, but I've never read anything by Hesse before. I usually don't go in for spiritual parable-ish stuff, but this is really wonderful. His writing has this lyrical, fresh-eyed quality to it that very few people writing in German can pull off. You don't exactly have to dig deep to figure out what he's talking about, but I found his direct approach rather refreshing. And it's always nice to be reminded that so much of who we are and what we think takes place entire More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 14, 2011

Matthew rated it:

The most epically boring book I've ever read. I had successfully blocked this from my memory, but a recent poll on Goodreads about your least favorite required read in high school opened the floodgates and brought the pain back.

4 comments like (6 people liked it)

Nov 30, 2008

Ara rated it:

This little book is as potent as a teaspoon of jabanero sauce on my Thai noodles, and Hermann, being a Germann, makes it just as efficient. An epic journey on a string of DNA winding through life, coiled and compressed into this small package for the busy intellectual. Despite having the brevity of a political soundbite, this novel will overwhelm you like a China Buffet, offering you everything from spartan sticky rice to brimming eggrolls to rich soft serve ice cream. And it requires several da More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Aug 04, 2011

Angus rated it:

Disclaimer: This is not a review. This may have spoilers. Read at your own risk. Visit original post at Book Rhapsody.

***

Intro

I was confused then. I was scouring the classics section of a book store. I didn’t know which book to buy. So many books, so little cash. So I texted my old flame. Which do you think is better, this one or Siddhartha. He went for Siddhartha.

I was half-wishing for him to choose the other one, which I cannot recall. It must have been More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 05, 2010

Maria rated it:

Siddhartha, son of a Brahman, is on a quest to find the meaning of life. We follow him as he struggles on through his journey, through many different life experiences. He is on a spiritual journey to find out for himself who he really is. Along the way he meets rich people, poor people, holy people, and becomes part of their world for a short time. Through his many encounters, he learns much more about himself and the world, but for a long time he is still not satisfied and still feels a dee More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

May 05, 2010

Sirpa rated it:

"The teaching which you have heard, however, is not my opinion, and its goal is not to explain the world to those who are thirsty for knowledge. Its goal is quite different; its goal is salvation from suffering." 27

The Four Noble Truths are universal teachings that I suppose it will take more than a lifetime to integrate into my beling. I love how the focus of this book changes as I mature. The purpose of a symbol, according to Hugh Nibley, is to "direct, concentrate, More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 16, 2011

Milo rated it:

After having finished this book mere minutes ago I am left feeling enlightened. Herman Hesse's literary prowess and philosophical points resonate within me. This book exudes worldly knowledge that, being of a younger age, I couldn't fully appreciate yet. Nonetheless, like all of us, I have been frustrated with life. I have suffered, felt hate, sought peace, and I too fear the end of this life. Hesse's work has served to quiet my soul and at the moment all I feel is quiet contentment, much like S More...

5 comments like (9 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Rob rated it:

Judging from the title, I went into this thinking: This is Hesse's take on the life of Siddhartha Gautama.... You know, the Buddha? Instead we get this thin parallel of Hesse's "Siddhartha" rubbed up tangentially against Gautama's life and acts.

I suppose that this prejudice tainted my overall read.

That said, I did not find Hesse's Siddhartha to be a particularly mature or captivating work. It was well-crafted and (at times) thought-provoking but not particula More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

May 10, 2008

Shakirah rated it:

Siddharta, in my opinion is a book which can be interpreted in a myriad of ways by its reader. For me personally, it represents the search for happiness by the self. The search for the meaning of life, the purpose for one's existence. Siddharta tries to reveal that true happiness can't be found by following teachings of any teachers or scholars but one has to find for oneself, experience and taste the wonders of enlightenment by oneself. Hesse illustrative power makes you live the atmosphere an More...

15 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 12, 2008

HM rated it:

ای عاشقان کیمیاگر کوئیلو به راستی این سیدارتهاست که به سلوک می رود همانگونه که هسه خود در واقع طی طریق می کرده و نه چون کوئیلو کاسب کاری

سيدارتها گمشده اي دارد جوياي كمال است . گاه تشنه تعليم و گاه گريزان از معلمان طريق و براستي در ميان اين بينهايت راه بهتريني وجود دارد . سئوال ها بسيارند و كلام عاجز و انديشه هاي جستجوگر حيران More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Mar 06, 2010

Edy rated it:

Herman Hesse merupakan peraih Nobel sastra tahun 1946 dari Jerman. Beliau aktif menyuarakan perdamaian dan anti perang.

Dalam novel yang bersetting agama Buddha ini diceritakan Siddharta yang muda dan tampan rela meninggalkan keluarga, sahabat, status sosial dan sang Buddha demi memperoleh pencerahan diri. Dia rela menanggalkan status brahmin (kasta yang tinggi) untuk bergabung dengan kaum “samana”. Kaum ini berusaha untuk mematikan nafsu duniawi dengan hanya berpakaian minim seadanya More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 04, 2009

Teji rated it:

I first read this book in high school and again, as an adult, with my book club. This remains one of my all-time favorite books. In many ways the story mirrors the actual life of the Buddah--but not quite. It is the story of one person's search for enlightenment. Hesse presents just that--that, while there may be commanalitites, really enlightment is an individual journey and one cannot achieve personal enlightment by walking someone else's path. I found this idea provacative and compelling More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 05, 2012

Almeta rated it:

Something intrinsically wrong about reviewing a book of enlightenment. Even Siddhartha himself will tell you that words will take you away from illumination.

Yet here I am.

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse lead me on a path through classic modes employed by the philosophical few who are on the quest for Nirvana. He presents the journey through the experience of one man who is “trying them all”, before he achieves his goal.

Hermann Hesse makes it easy to see that eac More...

3 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 30, 2011

Ariel rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 08, 2010

NG rated it:

الرواية تنتمي إلى نوع كتب "البحث عن الذات".. وعادة ما اقلق من هذا الطراز من الكتب، إذ يحمل، إن لم يكن الكاتب متمكناً من صنعته، الكثير من الحذلقة وأحياناً تسفيه من حياة البسطاء من الناس..
الكتاب عن رحلة بحث إنسان عن السعادة، أو بمعنى ادق رحلة بحث عن الطمأنينة والسكينة وما يحملانه من سعادة.. هذا ما شعرت به كهدف..

أسلوب هرمان هسه الراقي جعل من رحلة البحث رحلة ممتعة للقارئ، بما فيها من ألم وحزنن وضياع ثم عثور على ما ضاع..
الكتاب يحمل الكثير من الحكمة، الحكمة التي لا يم More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

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