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A review by maricasement
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
First Read (2011): 4 stars
Re-read (2021): 3.5 stars
This book is about Hesse taking you on a journey to what he envisions of enlightenment*. It is a book made of cycles and of learning and relearning what the world is all about. In it, we follow Siddhartha on his own journey, and through it Hesse tries to help us holistically understand how the world is made up of cycles and how it is a big interconnected whole.
This is an interesting and reflective book. You become frustrated by Siddhartha (I call him Sidd) and the people around him, you follow his thoughts and learn from them too. Ten years ago, when I first read it, I felt so light when I finished it, like I belonged to the whole world and it belonged to me. I felt calm and accepting of everything going on around me.
Now, my view of the world has changed and the world itself has. I am much more worried about how to change our world for the better, to not accept the devastating effects we all have on the climate. A part of accepting our unity with the world and its cycles is grounded on the idea that these cycles will never end or truly change, but if we keep doing what we've always done and just let our planet get worse, these cycles will not survive its devastation.
Hesse's view of enlightenment* is beautiful and I do think that it is important to reflect upon many things that he does in this book. But I feel that his view also encourages complacency, and that is not something we can afford right now.
*I am aware that Hesse knew a lot about Hinduism and Buddhism and that this book is based on the religions' beliefs. I don't think he reached enlightenment himself, though, and I have no idea how faithful he is to what is taught by those who have reached it. Even if he is close to actual Buddhist teachings, I would rather not assume that his view of enlightenment and ones path to it are anything but that - his view. He does try to show in the book that people's ways of expressing what enlightenment is are different, so I don't think he'd mind me saying that what he writes is merely how he sees it, and not a universal truth. Please do correct me if I'm wrong.
Re-read (2021): 3.5 stars
This book is about Hesse taking you on a journey to what he envisions of enlightenment*. It is a book made of cycles and of learning and relearning what the world is all about. In it, we follow Siddhartha on his own journey, and through it Hesse tries to help us holistically understand how the world is made up of cycles and how it is a big interconnected whole.
This is an interesting and reflective book. You become frustrated by Siddhartha (I call him Sidd) and the people around him, you follow his thoughts and learn from them too. Ten years ago, when I first read it, I felt so light when I finished it, like I belonged to the whole world and it belonged to me. I felt calm and accepting of everything going on around me.
Now, my view of the world has changed and the world itself has. I am much more worried about how to change our world for the better, to not accept the devastating effects we all have on the climate. A part of accepting our unity with the world and its cycles is grounded on the idea that these cycles will never end or truly change, but if we keep doing what we've always done and just let our planet get worse, these cycles will not survive its devastation.
Hesse's view of enlightenment* is beautiful and I do think that it is important to reflect upon many things that he does in this book. But I feel that his view also encourages complacency, and that is not something we can afford right now.
*I am aware that Hesse knew a lot about Hinduism and Buddhism and that this book is based on the religions' beliefs. I don't think he reached enlightenment himself, though, and I have no idea how faithful he is to what is taught by those who have reached it. Even if he is close to actual Buddhist teachings, I would rather not assume that his view of enlightenment and ones path to it are anything but that - his view. He does try to show in the book that people's ways of expressing what enlightenment is are different, so I don't think he'd mind me saying that what he writes is merely how he sees it, and not a universal truth. Please do correct me if I'm wrong.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship