sahdays's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Amazing narrative of Siddhartha’s journey
maktub's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I am the river.
gnuselvatico's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dsmw_reads's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I didnt read the description and jumped into book thinking it will be story of Gautama Buddha, but was astronized to read through Siddhartha's life. He is a Brahmana, Samana, Merchant, Sinner, Ferryman and Gotama, as he describes in ending of the book, He is everyone and no one.
Didnt feel like I was reading a philosophical book, but took my time reading, reflecting on the story.
Didnt feel like I was reading a philosophical book, but took my time reading, reflecting on the story.
bianca_topete's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
redbeanchu's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
awilderm23's review against another edition
5.0
'He observed merchants doing business, princes on their way to hunt, the bereaved mourning their dead, whores soliciting, doctors tending to patients, priests choosing the day when the seeds would be sown, lovers making love, mothers nursing their infants - and all these things were unworthy of being looked upon by him; it was all a lie, it all stank, stank of lies, it all gave the illusion of meaning and happiness and beauty, and all of it was just putrefaction that no one would admit to. Bitter was the taste of the world. Life was a torment.'
'What is meditation? What is leaving the body? What is fasting? What is holding the breath? It is all an escape from Self, it is a brief respite from the torment of being Self, a brief numbing of the pain and senselessness of life.'
'...and for a moment, for the space of a single breath, his heart was freezing cold.'
'From this moment when the world around him melted away and left him as solitary as a star in the sky, from this moment of cold and despondency, Siddhartha emerged, more firmly Self than before, solidified. This, he felt, had been the final shiver of awakening, the final pangs of birth. And at once he began to walk again, striding quickly and impatiently, no longer in the direction of home, no longer towards his father, no longer back.'
'Your mouth is like a fig split in two, Kamala. My mouth, too, is fresh and red; it will fit nicely against yours, you'll see.'
'Love can be begged, bought, or received as a gift, one can find it in the street, but one cannot steal it.'
'Then she aroused him and bound him to her in love play with an anguished passion, biting him and wetting him with tears, as if trying to squeeze the last sweet drop from this vain, transitory pleasure. Never before had it seemed so strangely clear to Siddhartha how closely sensuality was linked to death.'
'When she first received word of Siddhartha's disappearance, she went to the window, where she had been keeping a rare songbird, imprisoned in a golden cage. She opened the door of the cage, took the bird out, and let it fly away. For a long time she gazed after it, the flying bird.'
'The life he had been living these many years was now over and done with; he had drunk it to the lees, sucked the last drops, filled himself with nausea.'
'He had reached an impasse. All that was left to do was annihilate himself, smash to pieces the botched structure of his life, throw it away, hurl it at the feet of the mocking gods.'
Sansara: the wheel of birth and death, cycles of rebirths, empirical existence - reminiscent of ouroboros
'What is meditation? What is leaving the body? What is fasting? What is holding the breath? It is all an escape from Self, it is a brief respite from the torment of being Self, a brief numbing of the pain and senselessness of life.'
'...and for a moment, for the space of a single breath, his heart was freezing cold.'
'From this moment when the world around him melted away and left him as solitary as a star in the sky, from this moment of cold and despondency, Siddhartha emerged, more firmly Self than before, solidified. This, he felt, had been the final shiver of awakening, the final pangs of birth. And at once he began to walk again, striding quickly and impatiently, no longer in the direction of home, no longer towards his father, no longer back.'
'Your mouth is like a fig split in two, Kamala. My mouth, too, is fresh and red; it will fit nicely against yours, you'll see.'
'Love can be begged, bought, or received as a gift, one can find it in the street, but one cannot steal it.'
'Then she aroused him and bound him to her in love play with an anguished passion, biting him and wetting him with tears, as if trying to squeeze the last sweet drop from this vain, transitory pleasure. Never before had it seemed so strangely clear to Siddhartha how closely sensuality was linked to death.'
'When she first received word of Siddhartha's disappearance, she went to the window, where she had been keeping a rare songbird, imprisoned in a golden cage. She opened the door of the cage, took the bird out, and let it fly away. For a long time she gazed after it, the flying bird.'
'The life he had been living these many years was now over and done with; he had drunk it to the lees, sucked the last drops, filled himself with nausea.'
'He had reached an impasse. All that was left to do was annihilate himself, smash to pieces the botched structure of his life, throw it away, hurl it at the feet of the mocking gods.'
Sansara: the wheel of birth and death, cycles of rebirths, empirical existence - reminiscent of ouroboros