Description

Dissatisfied with the hollowness he senses in his privileged way of life, Siddhartha, the handsome son of a Brahmin, leaves his family and his great friend, Govinda, in search of a higher state of being. Siddhartha’s quest for insight takes him from immense wealth and luxury, and the pleasures of sensual and paternal love, to the purity of stringent asceticism. Worn out by his wanderings, he finds himself by the banks of a river, and there a humble ferryman teaches him his most valuable lesson yet.

Hermann Hesse’s short, elegant novel, echoing the life of the Buddha, has been cherished by readers for decades as an unforgettable spiritual primer. An undeniable classic of modern literature, it is also a tender moral allegory whose teachings continue to unfold more than a century after it first appeared.

Publisher Review

A subtle distillation of wisdom, stylistic grace and symmetry of form * Sunday Times * A writer of genius * The Times * [It’s] hard to think of a more recent novel that has sung so eloquently of the joys of being alone… beguiling * Guardian * Its simple prose and rebellious character echoed the yearnings of a generation that was seeking a way out of conformity, materialism and outward power…. Siddhartha emerged as a symbol; the symbol of those who seek the truth — Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist This novel is an eternally unfolding lotus: as fresh as the day I first read from its leaves * LitHub * He was an interesting figure who, through his refusal to acknowledge his limitations or the times he lived in, brought something entirely new to the novel — Philip Hensher * Spectator * A trusted guide for a generation of readers whose faith in institutions was destroyed by the First World War — Adam Kirsch * New Yorker * Siddhartha can encompass many more readings than one first supposes, and can become a touchstone that somehow keeps one company through life, growing older and more mature as the reader does — Pico Iyer